Kentucky School Boards Association
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Anchorage Independent Board Of Education Special Called Meeting
August 02, 2024 8:00 AM
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/mpe-qsqp-jxx
Or dial: ?(US) +1 978-593-3694? PIN: ?278 011 151?#


I. Approval of Agenda
II. ACTION - 2024-25 Calendar Revision
I recommend the board approve the revised 2024-2025 Anchorage School Calendar as presented. 

Background/Rationale:

The proposed amended calendar will provide a variable student instructional year to our students consisting of 1063.75 instructional hours. The start date will be August 26, 2024 and the end date will be May 23, 2025. There will be no half-days in this calendar. There are 8 early-release Fridays: Sept 13, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 13, Jan 17, Feb 14, March 14, and April 25. In the event of a snow day(s) cancellations, May 27-29 will be used as make-up days, as needed. 
 
Per KRS 158.070, "Variable student instructional year" means at least one thousand sixty-two (1,062) hours of instructional time delivered on the number of student attendance days adopted by a local board of education which shall be considered proportionally equivalent to one hundred seventy (170) student attendance days and calendar days for the purposes of a student instructional year...

...A local school board of education that adopts a school calendar with the first student attendance day in the school term starting no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 may use a variable student instructional year. Districts may set the length of individual student attendance days in a variable student instructional schedule, but no student attendance day shall contain more than seven (7) hours of instructional time... 

The proposed revised school calendar as presented includes the following:

  • 155 full days (Monday-Thursday) containing 395 instructional minutes each once student lunch minutes are deducted.
  • 8 early release days (Friday) containing 325 instructional minutes each once student lunch minutes are deducted.
Total instructional hours for the revised calendar as presented are: 1063.75
  • 170 Student Instruction Days
  • 6 All Staff Days (August 19, 20, 21, 22, 23; May 27)
  • 4 Staff Flex PD Days (Sept 30, Jan 3, Feb 17, Mar 31)
  • 2 Certified Conference Days (Oct 4, April 4)
  • 4 Holidays 
  • 186 Certified Staff Total
  • 180 Classified Staff Total

Please note that certified staff are contracted for 188 days and classified staff are contracted for 181 days.

Snow Make-Up Days, as Needed: May 27-29
III. ACTION - Petitions for Early EnrollmentKaren Solise

I recommend the Board approve petitions #24-1 and #24-2 for early enrollment on the condition that total enrollment (including these two students) for the Kindergarten grade level does not exceed 40 on the first day of school for students.

Per KRS 158.030, to be eligible to enter Kindergarten, beginning the 2017-2018 school year, children must be five years of age by August 1, instead of October 1. Senate Bill 24 (SB 24) amended KRS 158.030 by requiring local schools boards to adopt a policy for parents or guardians to petition the board to enroll a child who does not meet the kindergarten age requirement of turning 5 years of age on or before August 1. It is important to note that SB 24 also amended the date of kindergarten-entry eligibility. 

To be recommended for early entrance to kindergarten, our policy requires that a child demonstrate above-average performance and development in academic skills as well as approaches to learning, health and physical well-being, language and communication development, social and emotional development, and cognitive and general knowledge. The standards for early admittance are very high to ensure that students are not frustrated by their advanced grade placement. 

The process to evaluate this specific application for early enrollment included the following multiple measures of the child's readiness for school: 

DIAL-4 (Parent questionnaire assessing self-help and social/emotional development) 

DIAL-4 (Motor concepts and language screener) Kindergarten Coordinator Observations 

Upon completion of assessments and screeners, a committee met to review data and to make a recommendation. The committee, which included a kindergarten teacher, a counselor and the school principal, and Director of Exceptional Child Education determined that both children do demonstrate the needed readiness skills and should be eligible for early entrance into kindergarten.  Both students scored above the required 90 percentile included in our policy.

Based upon anticipated class sizes (K-37 currently enrolled), and the committee's recommendation, both Principal Rogers and I concur with the committee and recommend approval of Petition 24-1 and Petition 24-2 on the condition that total enrollment (including these two students) for the Kindergarten grade level does not exceed 40 on the first day of school for students.

 
IV. ACTION - 2024-25 Parent/Student Handbook AmendmentKaren Solise

I recommend including this language in the 2024-25 Parent/Student Handbook under the current heading of "Technology" to provide clarification for families when deciding between rental and purchasing options for Chromebooks:

New language:

"As part of our middle school program, students are required to either rent, rent-to-own, or purchase a Chromebook through the school. We understand that some families who purchased Chromebooks for their former 8th graders may wish to pass these devices down to younger siblings once their older children move on to high school.  Unfortunately, this does not align with our school guidelines. 
 
We would like to clarify that once 8th grade students graduate, the ownership of their Chromebooks transfers to the family, making these devices personally owned. According to our school guidelines, personally owned computing devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and others, are not permitted for use in APS classrooms."
V. Adjournment

Draft