Teacher's mental health was a topic of discussion at the Hays CISD meeting on Oct. 18. The board was excited to vote for and unanimously approved to amend the 2021-22 academic calendar to allot two days of what would have been used for student instruction for teachers to plan, prep and catch up with work as needed.

The board added that they believe this change is important for teachers' mental health as their work environment is a student’s learning environment. The overall hope is to help and support the district's teachers as best as possible so that they can best support and teach their students, the board said.

Nov. 8 and Feb. 18 are the two extra days teachers will have to evaluate their classes and plan accordingly. In order to make up for that educational time missed, the high schools in the district will begin their school day three minutes early in the upcoming spring semester. No changes will be made to the elementary or middle school schedules.

Parents will be notified of the change in schedule via email, social media and the district website soon so that they can plan for child care, if needed.

The next Hays CISD meeting will be on Oct. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Historic Buda Elementary Campus, 300 San Marcos St., Buda.