BISD BOARD APPROVES INSTRUCTIONAL CALENDAR, DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN

  

The Brenham ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the instructional calendar for the 2017-2018 school year during their meeting on Monday.

The 2017-2018 school year will begin on Wednesday, August 16th and summer vacation will begin on Friday, May 25th.

The new instructional calendar maintains the current holiday structure, ending the first semester prior to Christmas break and ending the year prior to Memorial Day.

The school district conducted a parent survey prior to creating the instructional calendar. The district received 515 responses to the survey. The questions asked included:

Do you prefer a week at Thanksgiving?

• 52.4% Yes
• 33.8% No
• 13.8% No Preference

Do you prefer that school ends in May or June?

• 81.2% May
• 5.6% June
• 13.2% No Preference

Do you prefer equal days of instruction in each semester?

• 38.3% Prefer equal days
• 61.7% No Preference

The instructional calendar was approved after the Board of Trustees voted to approve the District of Innovation Plan, which allows Brenham ISD to begin school prior to August 28th. The district says the earlier start date will allow for more balance in the fall and spring semesters.

In addition, the district has chosen two additional exemptions as part of the District of Innovation plan.

While teachers in core subject areas, bilingual classes and special education will be required to maintain certification, one exemption would allow the district to hire non-certified teachers in specialty vocations and trades areas.

The other exemption pertains to a two year probationary period for newly hired teachers in order to evaluate them over several school years. Previously, the district was limited to a one year probationary contract.

The District of Innovation Plan was developed by a focus group made up of staff members, parents, and community members and was approved by the District Educational Improvement Committee on February 9.

Both the instructional calendar and the  District of Innovation Plan can be found on the Brenham ISD website at www.brenhamisd.net.

The Board of Trustees also held a public hearing to discuss BISD’s Texas Academic Performance Reports. The reports pertained to the 2014-2015 school year and showed a wide range of information on the performance of students in the district. Some of those statistics included:

• Attendance levels - 96.1-percent (state average is (95.7)
• Teachers in Brenham ISD- 290 have their Bachelor’s Degree, 56.9 have their Master’s Degree, and 2 have their Doctorate
• Number of students per teacher- 13.9

Full reports can be found online by clicking here.

In other business, the Board of Trustees:

• Recognized the Special Olympic team for their accomplishments
• Presented the “You Make a Difference” Award to CARS (Children are Really Special) programs for their contributions and service to students of BISD: Alton Elementary School-Larry Robinson, Brenham Elementary School-Coach Harvey Intryre, and Krause Elementary School-Maggie Stark
• Approved a $3,500 donation from the BISD Education Foundation, a $2,400 donation from the First Lego League Jr., and a $3,662.94 donation from Elks Lodge #979
• Heard an update from Scotty Lewis with Project Control about the Krause Elementary renovation. Lewis stated the project would now be spread over two summers, which he says will allow for the district to save money on the renovation and assure the project is done by the time school is in session. The board also approved the schematic design package submitted by Lee, Truong, Yu Engineers for the renovation.
• Heard six week campus administrative reports and activities updates
• Approved administrative contracts as presented by HR Director Christie Olivarez