BENTON, Ark. — Benton School District leaders are exploring changing the school calendar to have less time off during the summer.
"We're just trying to find what our community, staff and students are most comfortable with," Benton Assistant Superintendent Larry Smith said.
That's what Benton School District administrators are trying to figure out as they get input from families and faculty in the school system.
Smith said they've received feedback through surveys on possibly switching to a hybrid calendar.
"It breaks up the school year differently than we typically do," Smith said.
That means a shorter summer break and longer, more frequent breaks throughout the school year.
"We have some interest, but it's about a 60/40 split," Smith said. "Our staff still has a lot of questions that they'd like to see if we can get some answers to before we would jump into doing that."
Smith said the hybrid calendar could have many benefits, like reducing burnout for students and teachers.
"Looking at student achievement stuff, when schools go from a traditional to a hybrid [schedule]... before and after test results is usually positive," Smith said. "It does have a positive impact on that."
According to Smith, the switch could impact athletic schedules.
"If you're out a week in October, seasons are going on," Smith said. "How does that affect contracts? Or does it affect contracts? What happens with it?"
In the meantime, Smith said school days might look a little different come next year because they're considering adding a few minutes to each day to help with the fact that they no longer have AMI days.
"It allows us to build in some three or four days that we can use as snow days and not have to really extend that calendar into June," Smith said.
Smith expects the board to finalize that decision in the spring. He said they'll continue to get feedback for the hybrid calendar throughout the spring and fall of next year before deciding.
The Bryant School District is also discussing possibly switching to an extended year calendar.