CALVERT, Texas (KRHD) — Calvert ISD is weighing out a return to a five-day school week, with district leaders citing a more demanding curriculum and concerns about student progress as the driving factors behind the potential change.
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The district shifted to a four-day school week a few years ago as a strategy to recruit and retain teachers. Now, leaders said students may be paying the price for that decision.
Superintendent Latisha Tennell said the needs of students are at the center of her thinking.
"When I make decisions, I make them for kids, so if they fail, then I took a failure for the kids," Tennell said.
Tennell pointed to a more rigorous curriculum as the key reason she believes students need more time in the classroom.
"My main thing is the new curriculum that we have, it's harder and I just think they need more time," Tennell said.
The superintendent said student outcomes remain her top priority.
"The progress of our students, that's what I'm most concerned with. They just need more and so I think that we need to go back to the 5 days. They need every minute, every hour that they can get," Tennell said.
Not everyone in the community is convinced a fifth school day is the answer. Robertson County resident Rebecca Noriega, a mother of six, argued the district's current schedule already provides students with ample instructional time.
"We start at 7 in the morning, 7:15. We don't get out till 3:45. Other schools start at 8 or 8:30. Our summer's cut short. We start 2 weeks before other schools, so we're still are getting those hours in," Noriega said.
For Noriega, adding another school day would mean rearranging her family's entire schedule.
"I enjoy my 4 days because I got older kids that are always busy doing things," Noriega said.
When 15 ABC asked Noriega what impact a five-day week would have on her family, she was direct.
"I will have to rearrange my schedule again. That's another day that I have to come to Calvert. It's going to be a struggle for me now to to make it work," Noriega said.
Despite her concerns, Noriega said she is willing to adapt if it means better outcomes for students.
"If that's what it comes down to and it's gonna make a progress at the school for the kids, then yes, we'll go to the 5 days," Noriega said.
No official decision has been made yet. 15 ABC will continue to follow this story and provide updates as new information becomes available.
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