Dates for the 2020-2021 School year were adopted at the February Board of Education meeting. There are several changes in the calendar for next year. State law now requires that students can not start before the 24th of August. This presented several challenges when creating the calendar. The biggest concern was keeping two balanced semesters while still offering professional development and holiday breaks. To offset this, all of the teacher professional development was planned in August, before the students begin on the 24th and again the second semester before students return in January. The calendar will also allow for up to 36 hours or 6 full snow days.
It is also important to note that the Board amended the proposed 2020-2021 calendar to allow High School students only to be dismissed on Monday, March 22, 2021. Historically the High School Ag department has participated in and hosted the Northwest Missouri Region Career Development Event during spring break or scheduled professional development days. Because the change in state statute regarding school start times did not allow for a scheduled PD day on Monday, an allowance is being made. The 20-21 academic calendar requires greater attendance minutes at the High School than it does for our elementaries. For this reason, it was allowable to dismiss high school students only. Middle School, Elementary, and Early Learning Center students will still be in session and all SR3 staff is expected to report as usual. High School (9-12) teachers will assist with the CDE or attend PD with building leaders.
In March of 2021 High School agriculture students, FFA members, instructors, and FFA alumni will be hosting approximately 1,500 agriculture students from across the region and the state. These events develop college and career readiness skills and serve as an outgrowth of instruction in the agricultural education classroom, supporting these opportunities for our students is an important part of our role in creating successful SR3 graduates.