Leander ISD officials presented a first draft of the 2017-18 school calendar on Dec. 15.[/caption]

Some Leander ISD trustees are proposing the district investigate early-release school days to see if the benefits to teachers and staff outweigh the burden on parents.

LISD trustees discussed the 2017-18 school calendar at the board meeting Thursday, Dec. 15.

Karie Lynn McSpadden, assistant superintendent of human resources, presented a recommended calendar, which included four early release days—one before the start of winter break; one on the last day of school; and two more on Oct. 25, 2017 and Feb. 21, 2018, both of which are Wednesdays.

McSpadden said the Texas Education Agency allows a maximum of six early release days per school year.

Trustee Aaron Johnson said the mid-week early-release days are disruptive, and parents in the community have told him it would be easier to give the students the whole day off or have them attend school for a full day.

McSpadden said the early-release days are used for staff development and teacher conferences. Wednesdays are the least disruptive because most University Interscholastic League activities, such as sporting events, take place on Thursday and Friday, she said.

“I do believe campuses appreciate those early-release days,” McSpadden said.

She also said it would be impossible to combine the Oct. 25 and Feb. 21 early-release days to create one full day of school and one full day off.

“That would reduce [the number of required] instructional days,” she said.

Johnson said he questioned the value of the half-day to LISD staff against the burden on families, especially working parents of elementary- and middle school-aged children.

Superintendent Dan Troxell said he feels confident the early-release days are justified, but he would like to show parents and the board how teachers are using those days to benefit students. He said staffers would find out what specifically teachers and administrators are doing on early-release days and report back to the board of trustees.

“If we find those dates are critically important to the benefit of our students … what can we do to mitigate that for some of our families?” Troxell said.

Alternatively, if staffers find that the early-release days are not critical for teacher development, they would adjust the proposed calendar to make Oct. 25 and Feb. 21 full days of instruction.

McSpadden said she would likely have a report in time for the board’s second meeting in January.