Terrell ISD Board or Trustees approve four-day school week

Published: January 24, 2023
Terrell ISD Board or Trustees approve four-day school week

TERRELL, Texas — The Terrell Independent School District will be moving to a four-day school week with adoption of the 2023-24 academic calendar by the Board of Trustees on Monday evening.

TERRELL, Texas — The Terrell Independent School District will be moving to a four-day school week with adoption of the 2023-24 academic calendar by the Board of Trustees on Monday evening.

"Terrell ISD's number one goal is to ensure that your student has access to high quality instruction, and with the adoption of a four-day instructional week the district believes it will help them to recruit and retain excellent staff," read a statement from the district today.

The district says the decision was made after "hosting a number of calendar committee meetings, conducting extensive research on the impact and characteristics of the four-day week, surveying both parents and staff members and attending seminars to learn from those districts who have implemented the four-day school week model."

The results of those surveys, according to the district, show 72% of parents favored the four-day instructional week while 92% of staff members would be "more likely to stay with the district if it moved to a four-day week."

With the calendar change, students will attend in-class instruction Monday through Thursday and will participate in independent learning on Fridays, as campuses will be closed. With the shortened school week comes slightly longer school days, according to the district.

The new campus school hours are: Elementary/Early Childhood School Hours from 8:10 a.m. until 4:25 p.m.; Furlough Middle School from 7:30 a.m. until 3:45 p.m.; and Terrell High School from 7:25 a.m. until 3:40 p.m.

The district says it is working to secure free childcare for elementary students and meals for those parents who request assistance on Fridays. More information on childcare and meals will be released soon.

To view the 2023-2024 student calendar in PDF format, click here.

Highlights of the four-day instructional calendar are as follows: