Dist. 211 considers moving finals before winter break
The largest specifically high school district in Illinois is considering a step more and more districts are taking — to move first-semester finals from mid-January to before winter break.
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board members Thursday endorsed administrators' proposal that students, parents and teachers be surveyed now about the possibility of making such a change for the 2016-17 school year.
The survey will be emailed to members of these three groups Friday and visible to other members of the community at the district's website.
Respondents are asked to complete the survey by Jan. 5 so board members can consider whether to make the change to the 2016-17 calendar when they next meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15.
The time frame is aimed to allow more than a year for families and teachers to adapt their summer 2016 planning. That's because if school board members vote in favor of the change, each academic year would begin a bit earlier in August and end before Memorial Day in May.
In his presentation to the school board, Superintendent Dan Cates said more high school districts are recognizing drawbacks in the traditional calendar, which District 211 has been following for at least 55 years.
The drawbacks generally center on the disruption to classes caused by winter break, meaning assignments to be completed over the holidays and then the review of certain material upon students' return, he said.
Cates said nearly 70 percent of high school districts in Cook, DuPage and McHenry counties have already adopted a “collegiate-style” calendar. District 211 consulted with many of them, and they reported the transition to have been successful, he said.
Most said the hardest part of the change was the reduction by about two weeks of the first summer when the transition is made, Cates said.
Another potential challenge is for families with students in both District 211 and one of its two feeder districts — Palatine Township Elementary District 15 and Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54.
But both of the elementary districts have been informed about District 211's possible change, Cates said.