Currently, in I-SS only 2 high schools and 2 middle schools have seven hour instructional days. Seven other schools are within 15 minutes of having a seven hour instructional day. Two questions are the basis of our study: 1. Do all schools need a seven hour instructional day? 2.Should the current schedules of elementary schools starting first and middle/high schools starting second be reversed? 

Several events have transpired that brought these questions forward for discussion. First, Governor Easley signed House Bill 1151 into law effective July 1, 2006. This new law mandates that School Improvement Teams, which include classroom teachers and administrators at each school, put into writing a policy to provide a duty-free lunch period for every teacher daily and a duty-free instructional planning period for every teacher, with the goal of providing an average of 5 hours planning time per week. This law applies to school improvement plans beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. The second reason for beginning this study had to do with the rapid growth in Iredell County Citizens, particularly from the southern portion of the county, asked the school system to consider the effect of school start times on local traffic. Local government planning departments echoed this request. A third reason for this study was brought forward by teachers and administrators who were concerned with meeting the instructional needs of all students within the current time constraints. All of these questions provide our community an opportunity to study and address these concerns.

The goal of the school system is to provide information to stakeholders and solicit feedback from them, which will be used to formulate a recommendation to the Board of Education on May 14, 2007.

Thank you for taking time to look at our PDSA and the supporting documentation. After studying this material, please complete the Stakeholder Survey. This survey may be completed online or you may request a hard copy of the survey at your school’s main office. Hard copies should be returned to the school. Surveys will be available until 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2007.