Universal Calendar Next Year

[c.l.ball]

Bell's website is reporting this and I unofficially confirmed via phone with a high-level CPS office.

There will be a universal calendar for CPS next year. No Track R v. Track E.

It will be put out in January, according to my contact.

It would have been nice if CPS would at least have consulted with parents of both tracks about this.

[JenK]

It would have been nice if CPS would at least have consulted with parents of both tracks about this.

Why start now?

Apparently, CPS thinks half days and switching spring break dates mid-stream is a good idea, too.

[Edgewater mom]

Happy Holidays - CPS has GRANTED YOUR WISH !!!!
Looks like CPS has provided a parent survey regarding the Universal Calendar. Sun-Times has the story here:

You'll need your CPS STudent Id# and there is a January deadline on the survey monkey. Happy Voting!

Here's the Sun-Times Report:
CPS asks parents, students for guidance on new school calendar

The Chicago Public School system is launching an online survey for parents and students as it works with the Chicago Teachers Union to develop a single calendar for its schools in the 2013-2014 school year and do away with its two-track schedule.

Families are being asked to fill out the 10-question survey by Jan. 11. Those who participate will be asked when they would prefer the school year to begin and how breaks in the calendar should work. It can be found at www.cps.edu/calendarsurvey and is available in English, Spanish, Polish and Chinese. Parents must enter their child’s student ID number when they take the survey. The ID number can be found on their progress reports or report cards or at the CPS Parent Portal’s “Manage Students” page at www.cps.edu.

“Moving towards a single, unified calendar is in the best interest of our school communities and better aligns with our goal to provide every student with a rigorous curriculum, but we need our parents and students to have a voice in the process,” CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said.

Under CPS’ current two-track schedule, classes for some students begin in early August while others begin a month later. CPS officials said a unified schedule — part of the deal that ended this year’s teacher strike — will make planning easier for faculty and students. They expect it to go to the board for approval in January.