Pender County Board of Education approves school calendar with semester ending in December for 2023-24

PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - The Pender County Board of Education unanimously approved a calendar for the 2023-24 school year to end in December at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The issue among many community members who gave feedback to the board is whether exams take place in December or January. Two options proposed in the calendar presentation include one with more even-length semesters and more hours of instruction and another with fewer instruction hours and exams in December.

An initial meeting was held with teachers of the year to explain the relevant law in December, then draft calendars were built based on feedback, then the drafted calendars were shown to teachers of the year, and a meeting was held to get additional feedback. Finally, a community survey was shared on social media and from each school.

The presentation notes that common requests include more workdays between the semesters in January, a half day on the last day of school and changing high school to a full-year schedule. Feedback from a teacher meeting included staff requests for early release days for professional development and extra days between semesters to plan.

Between the two options for Pender County Schools, 80% of respondents chose option two with uneven semesters and exams in December.

Draft calendars for Pender Early College High School and Penderlea include nearly even semesters and exams in December; though these schools have unique calendars. About 83% of respondents voted in favor of these two schools’ calendars as presented.

Brad George, a member of the board, also resigned from his position at the meeting effective as of Feb. 21. This follows after the GOP recommended him to fill in the open seat on the board of commissioners left by Jimmy Tate.

Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.