Changes expected to isles’ school year

A school board committee voted unanimously in June to recommend the proposed calendar to the full board, which meets today at 7 p.m. at Hanalei Elementary School

Two years after being adopted, Hawaii’s unified public school calendar is expected to be changed tonight.

The state Board of Education will meet on Kauai at 7 p.m. to consider extending the summer recess by two weeks while pulling away one week each from the winter and spring breaks.

A school board committee unanimously approved the proposed calendar in June, and several key members said yesterday they expect the board will approve the change tonight.

The goal is to give schools that have been unable to cram summer programs into seven weeks more time to offer credit-recovery and enrichment courses.

A statewide school calendar — featuring seven weeks off in the summer, a week in the fall, three weeks for Christmas and two weeks in spring — was launched in the 2006-07 academic year. It was intended to accommodate the schedule of parents whose children attended different campuses, streamline payroll and prevent kids from forgetting what they learned during summer breaks that lasted 10 weeks or more.

If approved, the new calendar would take effect in the 2009-10 school year.

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(Source: Alexandre Da Silva, Honolulu Star-Bulletin)