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Howe ISD Innovation Plan committee discusses 2017-18 calendar
A group of district employees, parents and business representatives gathered to discuss proposed innovations within the district that conforms to TEA statutes
With charter school in Texas playing by a different set of rules than public schools, the Texas legislature devised the "District of Innovation" which allows the public schools to have some of the same flexibilities as the charter schools
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The ignition switch for Howe was the start date of the 2017-18 school year The TEC states that a school district may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the fourth Monday. However, Howe is proposing an exemption to start on the third week in August in order to not push the school year into June
"We want to start on the third Monday (in August) to keep everything normal where we can still get out in May" said Wilson
Howe ISD also proposed an exemption for teacher certification. TEC states that a person may not be employed as a teacher, librarian, educational aide, administrator, or school counselor by a school district unless the person holds an appropriate certificate or permit used However, Howe ISD, as a small district, feels that the requirements inhibit Howe ISD's ability to hir qualified teachers to instruct some CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses and non-core electives The proposal would allow Howe to utilize experienced teachers to teach an elective in a closely related certification area, hire a community college instructor, recruit individuals from the field, including individuals from certain trades and or vocations with industry knowledge and experience
The candidates would have to meet the district's criteria including a criminal background check in compliance to SBEC rules
The district is also seeking to issue a probationary contract period for new teachers for up to two years for an experienced teacher that has been employed in public education for at least five of the previous eight years
Another proposed exemption is for the length of the school day The TEC states that reference to a day of instruction means 420 minutes of instruction Howe ISD, up until this year, had utilized early release days for staff development, primarily for technology training and data analysis The Howe teachers have requested that they reinstate them back into the calendar Current law included TEA waiver process in order to employ early release days Because of the uncertainty in the future of the waiver process, Howe ISD is seeking flexibility in utilizing up to six early release days to be used for staff development or semester exams Howe ISD is making the proposal with the understanding that early release time will not count toward the mandated 75,600 minutes of instruction for students
The committee approved their proposed exemptions and it will be put in front of the Howe ISD Board of Trustees this month for approval
If approved, the current 2017-18 calender calls for the school year to start on August 21, 2017 and finish on May 25
