Douglas County School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to implement a pilot four-day school week for George Whittell High School's 2009-10 school year.
"Implementing (the 4-day week) this fall will add educational value to the high school," DCSD Board President Cynthia Trigg said.
More than 20 parents and Whittell High School staff members attended the meeting to show their support.
"We feel we'll be able to cover more curriculum than reteaching from the day before," Whittell Principal Sue Shannon said.
The calendar originally went before the board in April, but board members felt they did not have enough information at the time to make a decision.
Students will go to school Mondays through Thursdays, which would lengthen each day by 72 minutes. The number of days in the school year would drop from 178 to 144.
Shannon said about 79 percent of high school students are in one sport, and a student misses 35 class periods per year, on average, for extracurricular activities.
The sports schedule is set and 83 percent of athletic competitions for 2009-10 are scheduled on either Fridays or Saturdays. The only sports that are difficult to schedule strictly on Fridays and Saturdays are golf, skiing and playoffs, Shannon added.
Enrichment activities for Fridays, when school would not be in session, will be sponsored by the booster club, so no liability would be attached to the school.
To stay in accordance with state law, the pilot school calendar for the 2009-10 school year will need to be reviewed before December, Trigg said.
The high school staff plans to present an evaluation to the board in November, Shannon said.
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