Students will receive two extra days off for Thanksgiving break after the Alliance School Board agreed to give teachers Nov. 23 and Nov 24 for planning.
Superintendent Dr. Troy Unzicker said there have been several schools in the area making the move to extend Thanksgiving break for students. Unzicker said Commissioner of Education Matthew Blomstedt made the extension possible by waiving 48 instructional hours if teachers are given planning days. He said the school calendar already accounts for more than 1,080 hours to allow for snow days, so he does not anticipate the extension of Thanksgiving break to lengthen the school year.
Board Member Shana Brown suggested the extra time off for students could be beneficial, allowing for teachers to catch up.
“I feel like having a couple quiet days could be a huge benefit,” Brown said. “Then, maybe, when you go into the holidays, you don’t have all this stuff that you have to catch up on that you’re going to do on your own time for however many days. Considering the positive rate (of COVID-19 cases), I don’t that it’s a bad thing that we have everybody home for a few extra days.”
Unzicker said he visited with administrators and told them they could only have two hours of the teachers’ time over that two day period for meetings. He said that teachers and paras could work to deep clean the school facilities and disinfect.
Board Member Tim Richey agreed with the sentiment, reiterating that the extended break would not extend the school year. He noted that giving students more time with family would also be beneficial in these times. Unzicker said teachers were receptive to the idea.
Brown made a motion to give students Monday and Tuesday off, and Richey seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.