The Decatur ISD community can now vote on what they want the district’s first true four-day school week to look like next year.
At Monday’s regular meeting, the school board heard an update on the district’s transition to a four-day week beginning in the 2025-2026 school year from Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Michelle Wooten.
She explained that the District Educational Improvement Committee (DEIC) had met to look at calendar options that include the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requirements of at least 75,600 minutes of instructional time, choosing two of the three options to send to the community for a vote.
This vote follows a survey last month about how the community felt about the current “hybrid” schedule, which included some aspects of a four-day week and extended school days. Overall, the survey showed positive feedback for moving to the four-day model.
Both calendar option A and calendar option B have school days that last from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the elementary and middle school levels and 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at high school.
Interim Superintendent Karen Rue said those times could be subject to change pending final transportation logistics.
“You see elementary and middle school starting at the same time, and that is possible, should the board decide you want to look at additional buses for the next school year,” she said. “While the calendar can be adopted, the times will need to be adjusted accordingly.”
Option A has a school year that runs from Aug. 6 to May 21 while Option B’s calendar runs from Aug. 7 to May 27. Option A has three five-day weeks in August while Option B has two five-day weeks that month.
Other highlights of the calendars include no early release days and a move to nine-week grading periods.
Wooten said the district is also looking at ways of addressing child nutrition for at-risk students on those Fridays through its partnership with Feeding Wise Kids, which provides the backpack program, and Learning Ladder, which provides daycare services for the district. The district is looking at the possibility of providing a lunch program at Learning Ladder similar to what is done during summer school, according to Monday’s report to the board.
The district is also working with local child care providers to look at options for those Fridays when students do not attend school.
The survey is open now through Jan. 5 on the district’s website, decaturisd.us.
The calendar that receives the most votes will be presented for board approval at the January meeting, according to the district.
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