These changes involve turning some full day professional development (PD) days for teachers into half-day PD days throughout the year so their learning can be focused on areas of direct relevance to students. This approach is a way to provide professional development for teachers that is being adopted by high performing schools in the US and recommended by respected education organizations.
We've had questions from parents about the half days and the implications of a shorter Easter break. A lively PFO meeting last week gave us a chance to hear from the community and gave the administration a chance to explain in more detail the compelling educational reasons for the changes.
I urge you to read the attachment to better understand the educational rationale as well as other background on the complexity of calendar issues.
We recognize that some parents felt the announcement of the changes came later than is desirable. Please know we decided to proceed for next year because we believe there is strong educational value for students and teachers from this focused approach, and we were reluctant to delay the benefits for students.
I've decided to make some final adjustments to the announced changes which will retain the important benefits for students and teachers of our professional development approach and create reasonable rhythms to the school year.
Please see the attachment for a full explication of the changes and the rationale. In summary:
- The eight half days for PD will become six half days; three of those six will move to Friday afternoons. The other two half days will become a full day for PD on May 2 creating a four day weekend for students and parents.
- The announced four day Easter break will become a six day break for everyone (March 20-25) thus creating a longer time for students and teachers to spend with families.
An updated 2007-08 school calendar is attached.
You should know that calendar issues are among the most complex faced by schools; all decisions involve significant trade-offs on the use of time. We face a doubly difficult problem in Hong Kong given the number of public holidays and the fact that many shift from year to year based on the lunar calendar. HKIS has wrestled with these questions for forty years - and will continue to do so by putting students' learning needs at the heart of our considerations.
I look forward to continuing to work with parents on the best possible education for HKIS students.
