EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The three El Paso school districts who are still on traditional calendars will vote on whether to move to an intercessional calendar during their upcoming school board meetings in June, KTSM has learned.
Canutillo, El Paso, and Ysleta ISD School Boards will each consider newly proposed calendars that will align more closely with Socorro ISD’s ‘year-round’ calendar. The proposed calendars will have students throughout the city returning to class on August 3 instead of later in the month.
Canutillo ISD will vote on their proposed calendar on Tuesday, June 9, while El Paso ISD will vote on their calendar June 16, and Ysleta ISD will vote on June 17.
The decision to consider intercessional calendars came at the recommendation of the Texas Education Agency, according to EPISD Trustee Freddy Klayel-Avalos. He says the TEA recommended the calendar change so El Paso area schools can be more aligned with the rest of the state.
“What I have researched it will also benefit our teachers with a fall break, which will prevent burnout and higher quality teaching which should render higher quality results,” Klayel-Avalos said.
El Paso American Federation of Teachers members was surveyed in mid-May about a proposed calendar change to mirror the one Socorro ISD has used for years. The survey revealed that 53.24 percent of teachers supported EPISD moving to the intercessional calendar, with only 33.8 percent voting against the proposal.
Klayel-Avalos said the teacher’s survey response will likely guide him toward voting to approve the changed calendar, which would go into effect immediately for the 2020-2021 school year.
The changes could mean teachers in all districts will report to work in the last week of July. The alteration comes as the school districts are still working on plans for how students will return to campus in the Fall following the coronavirus pandemic.
While Ysleta ISD has yet to post their June school board agenda, KTSM spoke with Trustee Kathryn Lucero who confirmed the item would be on the agenda for Ysleta ISD’s June 17 school board meeting. She tells KTSM the Ysleta ISD calendar proposal also has students returning to class on August 3.
