Half days added to district calendar

Question: I am hearing that notices were sent home with some students advising parents of 6 additional half days that are not on the current calendar. A notice was not sent home with my child (yet) and I am not able to find anything in regards to this announcement on the district Web site. I'm told the first half day is next week (Oct 7th) and need to plan for child care if need be. What grades are impacted and what are the dates of these new half days?

Answer: A letter was sent to parents last week informing them of five half-days that have been added to the district calendar to accomodate state-mandated professional development for all faculty and staff. The half days are:

• Wednesday, Oct. 7
• Friday, Nov. 13
• Wednesday, Jan. 6
• Wednesday, Mar. 3
• Wednesday, Apr. 14

On these days, secondary students (grades 6-12) will be released at 10:20 a.m. Elementary students (grades K-5) will be released at 11:20 a.m. There will be no afternoon pre-kindergarten on these days. The afterschool program will run; however, participants must bring their own bag lunch.

New York State Education Law mandates on-going training for all certified instructional staff. In an effort to meet the needs of the students that we serve, it is important that our teachers and instructional support staff receive and participate in various trainings on an ongoing basis, not just at the start of the school year. Research shows that the most effective professional development programs are those that provide on-going training in a format much like the one we are implementing here at Broadalbin-Perth.

Please contact your child's building principal if you have any additional questions or concerns.

- Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent