Remember!!
The first day of school comes earlier this year: Students start Monday, August 16 throughout SFUSD in order to finish the first semester by winter break.
See you then – we hope you had/have a happy and safe summer!!
This past spring, SFUSD continued its efforts to improve instruction with an adjusted calendar, but it also faced the reality of massive budget cuts. The result is a school year for 2010-11 that will begin a week earlier than usual but will include four fewer days of school.
Improved Semester Schedule
One of the most important changes is a continuous first semester. As many current students and staff know, the former fall semester schedule was interrupted by winter break, requiring students to take extra time to get back to where they were in their studies when they returned for the final two weeks of the fall semester in January.
For middle and high school students the earlier start will mean final exams and papers will be completed prior to leaving for winter break, allowing them to rest without the pressure of finishing assignments or studying for tests.
For teachers, ending the fall semester before the winter break will allow them to adjust what is known as the “master schedule” in response to student needs. Before, students were locked into a year-long block for many core courses such as English and Math and the one-day break between semesters did not allow sufficient time for schools to adjust for those who failed a class. Under the new calendar, students who failed a first semester class such as Math or English will be able to retake the class before continuing with the second segment.
Also, the subsequent early start of the second semester will allow more instructional time prior to the standardized (STAR) and advanced placement (AP) tests students take in late April and early May. The school year will end May 27, 2011, before Memorial Day.
The new calendar was created by a committee of district employee representatives, teachers, parent representatives and administrators, and was adopted by the Board of Education.
Budget cuts reduce calendar by four days, saves teachers’ jobs
In June, the Board of Education approved a revised instructional calendar for 2010-11 to include four fewer days of instruction, due to budget reduction furlough days (unpaid work days) for all SFUSD staff.
The furloughs are part of the district’s cost-cutting measures as it faces a $113 million shortage of funds from the state of California over the next two years. The district estimates the furloughs – when schools, child development centers and district offices will be closed – will save approximately $9.2 million in 2010-11 alone, making it possible for the district to avoid laying off hundreds of teachers.
In addition to its regularly-scheduled holidays, schools will be closed:
• Monday, November 1, 2010
(The teachers union (UESF) requested this to be one of the furloughs)
• Friday, February 4, 2011
(This was chosen to create a long weekend; February, 3 is the district’s Lunar New Year holiday)
• Friday, March 25, 2011
(This furlough will extend spring break by one day)
• Monday, April 25, 2011
(This creates a long weekend before the end of the school year)
You can view the 2010-11 calendar here.
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