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GISD School Board Passes New Calendar for 2016-17

The Board of Trustees approved the 2016-2017 Greenville ISD calendar at the February 16th board meeting. The calendar was vetted and unanimously approved by the District Educational Improvement Council (DEIC) prior to the board meeting. Highlights include migrating to 9-week grading periods, 169 days of instruction, 18 days of in-service, and ending the school year before Memorial Day.

With the approval of the calendar, Greenville ISD will be changing from 6-week grading periods to 9-week periods beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. With a 9-week period, students will benefit from increased instructional time for content mastery, more time to complete long-term projects and the opportunity to earn additional grades. Furthermore, there is added time for instruction prior to taking end of period exams and the extra time allows students to recover unsatisfactory grades.

Don Jefferies, Greenville ISD Superintendent, said of the shift, “Product oriented education requires students to delve deeply into content areas and apply their knowledge through project-based lessons. One goal of the increased grading period is to ensure our students are given sufficient time to deeply absorb new material.”

Students and parents will receive 3-week progress reports and 6-week progress reports in each grading period, offering multiple opportunities to check for student progress and understanding. Additionally, the extended grading period will cut-back on the time teachers spend on calculating grades for the major reporting periods.

The 2016-2017 school year will begin on August 22nd and end on May 25th. Winter Break is scheduled for December 19th through January 2nd and Spring Break will be held from March 13th through March 17th.

The Texas Legislature passed HB2610, which amends the Texas Education Code by requiring at least 75,600 minutes of instruction versus the previously required 180 days of instruction. To satisfy the new requirement, campus hours will be as follows: L.P. Waters and Elementary 7:45am-3:15pm; Sixth Grade Center 8:10am-3:40pm; Middle School 8:05am-3:35pm; High School 8:20am-3:50pm; HEC 8:00am-3:30pm.

To see the full calendar, please visit www.greenvilleisd.com. Those with questions are encouraged to contact Kelli Tharp, Chief Communications and Business Development Officer, at 903.408.4483 or tharpk@greenvilleisd.com.