Milwaukee Public School Officials Seek Final Approval On New Academic Calendar

Milwaukee Public School District officials plan to meet Thursday evening to consider a new academic calendar. The proposed calendar would send high school and year-round students back to school in mid-August next year, instead of Sept. 1. All other schools wouldn’t adopt the new calendar until the 2018-19 school year.

The district’s superintendent, Darienne Driver, cited community feedback as the reason all schools wouldn’t start at the same time.

“We needed to take a pause for a moment and make sure that we were really bringing our community along with us and making the change to the calendar for the elementary level,” Driver said at a press conference Wednesday. “But with the high schools, when you look at the data, it is really hard not to say that we need to do something right now.”

Last year, one third of high school students attempted and failed to pass common high school courses.

Driver said the new calendar will give students a chance to make up those credits during a term in June along with summer school.

Superintendent of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Tony Evers, said the new calendar is in his department’s budget but needs to be approved by the state legislature.

“We’ve been working together in a very significant way over the last years that Dr. Driver’s been here and even before,” Evers said. “I’m here because this is good for Milwaukee public schools.”

Evers said the budget approval will make the proposed start date a reality for all Milwaukee public schools.