A new prospect has emerged for the students of Katy ISD as the administration has issued three possible options to the 2018-2019 instructional calendar. In the wake of this proposition, Katy ISD has decided to take into consideration the opinion of the community on deciding the possible new schedule for the upcoming year. On Jan. 19, the community submitted their votes for one of the three possible schedules being proposed by Katy ISD and voting will be open until Feb. 2.
“I know that people like the extra time off at Thanksgiving. I would personally rather start school earlier in August and be done Memorial Day Weekend. I know an attempt was made to even out the semesters in terms of instructional days because there is so much testing in the second semester,” said Head Principal Mark Grisdale.
One of the possible options being proposed to the community is one in which students would start instruction on Aug. 15, and instruction would continue until May 23. In addition, students would still receive a full week off for Thanksgiving, similar as to the 2017-2018 instructional calendar. This proposition would include 177 days of total instruction.
“It is always good to get the community input. If that is what the majority of the people want, then it is easy to justify why the decisions were made,” said Grisdale.
The second possible option that the community may vote on is a calendar which proposes that student instruction begin on Aug. 13, and instruction would continue until May 22. Similar to the first option, students would retain a full week off of instruction for Thanksgiving. In contrast to the first option, the second option would include 178 days of total instruction. In addition, the third possible option that the community may vote on is a calendar where student instruction begins on Aug. 27, and instruction would continue until the fourth of June. Opposed to the other two options, students would only receive a three-day break for the Thanksgiving holiday instead of the full week given in the 2017-2018 instructional calendar. In total, students will be instructed for 178 days.
With the help of the community, Katy ISD can make changes that will be more widely accepted due to everyone feeling like they can have a voice. If the turnout is promising, one should expect to see more decisions made by Katy ISD feature the input of those who it will directly affect.
