Board considers early-release days at tonight’s meeting
Several issues are on the agenda for tonight’s Lowell School Committee meeting, but one with an immediate impact on students, families and staff is a proposal by the administration to conduct a pilot allowing four early-release days for K-8 schools through the upcoming academic year. (The proposal will be addressed as part of the Curriculum Subcommittee report.) According to school administrators, the days will occur on the same schedule as the high school, which has had an early-release program for several years, and will provide much-needed time for professional development and collaboration between grade-level teams at the elementary and middle schools. Early release for professional development is a practice used by many neighboring school districts, but due to childcare concerns for working parents and other issues, it has not been an easy option in Lowell. The proposed pilot, which is designed to improve teacher communication and quality of instruction, would reduce students’ time on learning by 7.5 hours, increase parent-teacher conference time by 2.5 hours, and result in a savings of about $40K in substitutes for the year. The proposal calls for students to be released after lunch on four Wednesdays, with exact times varying by school. The first release day is planned for Oct. 28; the second one, on Dec. 16, is slated for parent-teacher conferences across the district.
During reports from the Finance and Safety Subcommittees, the board will also receive updates on savings in the food service program as well as plans for flu shots in the schools this fall. The meeting, which is held in Council Chambers and begins at 7 p.m., will be televised live on cable channel 10.