South Bend Empowerment Zone

Balanced Calendar Frequently Asked Questions

This is a “living document” of FAQ about the proposed balanced calendar. Information will be updated and questions added
over the coming weeks. New questions are highlighted in yellow.

Frequently Asked Questions Answers

Has a decision been made to implement a No. The Zone’s Board of Directors will vote on the calendar in mid-April.
balanced calendar?

Why implement a balanced calendar? Research shows that a balanced calendar creates benefits for students, families, and teachers. It
supports student academic progress with continuous instruction and more opportunities for
intervention. It also supports families with shorter periods of time when their children require care.
Teachers benefit from regular breaks throughout the year that prevent burnout, improved work-life
balance, more opportunities for professional development, and a prep day at the start of each
quarter.

A number of schools in Indiana, and throughout the country (46 out of 50 states), already use a
balanced calendar including the following districts in Indiana:
● Beech Grove City Schools
● Lafayette School Corporation
● Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation
● New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools

With the Zone entering Year 5, would it make We hope to have an answer regarding the long-term plans for SBEZ by April. This decision will be
sense to implement a new calendar for one made before any decision regarding changes to the calendar.
year?
Will families have the opportunity to ask Yes. We will have multiple in-person town hall meetings for families across the coming weeks. At
questions and give feedback on the proposed least one town hall will be in Spanish. All town halls will offer Spanish translation for specific
calendar? questions. Town halls will be live streamed on Facebook and those watching online will be able to
submit questions. Town hall dates will be shared on the Zone’s Facebook page and other social
media.

We will also gather feedback and additional questions from families via online surveys. We also
welcome families to ask questions on the Zone’s Facebook page.

Would the new calendar align with the SBCSC Yes. The proposed 3-week breaks include SBCSC Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Breaks.
breaks for Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter and
Spring?

Is SBCSC considering a balanced calendar? We cannot speak for SBCSC. However, conversations and discussions are continuously
taking place between SBEZ and SBCSC.

How long are the instructional days during the The second week of each break cycle in between quarters will include a 5-day intervention intensive
intervention week between quarters? for targeted students and at this time is proposed to run from 8:30am to 11:30am for students and
8am to 12pm for teachers. This has not been finalized.

What do you know about districts that have Implementation is critical to the successful roll out of a balanced calendar. The decision
implemented a balanced calendar but stopped framework will be used to determine if this is a proposal that we will move forward with and
and returned to a traditional calendar? if we do, we will implement it with fidelity. In some districts that introduced the balanced
calendar and returned to a traditional calendar, the proposed changes varied during
implementation, such as reducing intercession days and not including the intervention time
during intercession breaks.

What measures will be used to determine if the Measuring the effectiveness of the program would be extensive. We would refine, tweak
balanced calendar is effective? what needed to be tweaked; however, we do not plan to stop in the first year after
identifying challenges.

A program needs enough time to germinate once implementation begins. We would plan to
follow the balanced calendar for at least one year.

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Does the Zone have time to build relationships We already have external partners at many of our schools running after school
with external partners to provide day camps programming and they could potentially be our day camp providers during intercession and
when they are needed? we have various existing partners in the community that we could bring in. We also have
had some people suggest we run our own intersession camps.

Surveys are being collected from parents and The full data set will be shared with stakeholders and the community. These will be
teachers, but what data will be shared and available online.
where can it be accessed?

What will the Zone Board vote on? The proposal we take to the Board in April will be based on community input and additional
data. The Board will vote on only one of three options: (1) the current proposed calendar,
(2) a modification of the proposed calendar based on feedback, or (3) the SBCSC
traditional calendar.

What does the research show in regards to Studies are available to support both balanced calendars as well as not using the balanced
truancy rates? calendar in general. However, there are numerous studies that have demonstrated a
decrease in absences.

Will intervention week during breaks replace No. We will continue to have instructional intervention throughout the year during the school day.
intervention services during academic
quarters?

How would parent-teacher conferences work? Parents can coordinate to meet at any time with their child’s teacher. Additionally, we will
schedule two afternoon/evening events, in the Fall and Spring, to conduct parent-teacher
conferences. Progress reports, report cards and parent-teacher conference dates would be
adjusted to align with the proposed balanced calendar.

How would Summer School work? For students who need it most, we are proposing intensive interventions during week 2 of
each cycle, three times a year. In this proposal, after the fourth quarter and the last day of
school next school year (2023-2024), summer school would serve as an additional
“intervention” session and would take place for one week.

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Is Summer School optional? Summer school is not optional, it is tied to Performance in Doubt.

What does Summer School look like for This would be determined individually. Summer school would most likely focus on the
students who have multiple reasons for being highest impact areas.
Promotion in Doubt (i.e., attendance,
academics and behavior)?

Will any DLI changes be taken into account Yes. The DLI program and the needs of our students will be taken into account with a new
with the new calendar? calendar, as well as if we stay on a traditional calendar.

What students will be selected for The primary student group are those who perform in the bottom quartile when assessed in
intervention? math and/or reading skills.

How will progress be monitored? iReady benchmark data can provide an overarching view of progress; however, formative
assessments that align with the learning objectives (e.g., DIBELS for literacy) will also
provide data about student learning and progress for precise skills or standards.

Will one week of intercession intervention One full week of intensive intervention can be structured to make a difference in
make a difference? accelerating learning and helping close gaps. We have also had suggestions from different
stakeholders to extend intervention during intercession to two weeks instead of one.

How do we address childcare with a balanced In the calendar that we are proposing, we plan to offer optional student day camps during
calendar during the breaks when students are two weeks out of three in each intercession. Day camps would mostly likely be offered by
off from school? community partners such as Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Club, etc.The Zone may
consider creating its own day camp.

Will there be opportunities for support staff to Yes. The second week of each break will allow for some support staff to work beyond the 180-day
work during the intervention weeks? school year. Staff are not required to work during these weeks.

Will staff’s personal days change? No. Current HR policies, including personal days, remain the same.

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What is staff hourly pay during the summer? The same contract applies and the same amount of days; however, the days are redistributed. If staff
would like to work during the 3-week intercession breaks, we will be offering day camp opportunities
and other summer employment to work during the intercession.

Will payroll be based on the traditional The payroll schedule would reflect the new calendar.
calendar?

Would the teacher contract change? A modified or new contract would be revised to reflect teacher pay.

How would this apply to 12-month employees? During intercessions, 12-month employees will still be working; this is only a redistribution
of school days.

Is the teacher prep day at the beginning of Teacher prep days are built into the calendar at the beginning of each new quarter, after
each quarter in place of teacher record day? each 3-week intercession or break cycle. The schedule for teacher prep days would be 9am
to 1pm so that teachers and staff can plan and prepare for the new quarter prior to students
returning.

Will we have teacher record day? We will probably not have a separate teacher record day.

Will the curriculum we use change if we don’t We will be able to make curricular changes even if the Zone is not extended and has one
move forward with the balanced calendar and more year. A process for curriculum review is currently in place and recommendations will
go back to SBCSC after one more year as the be made by the curriculum review committees. Any changes will be informed by what is best
South Bend Empowerment Zone? for students.

If a teacher is interested in being an No. We will identify the teachers who may work during the intercessions, but they don’t need
intervention teacher, must they commit to to commit for all breaks at one time.
work all intercession intervention sessions
across the three break cycles?

Will teacher attendance at professional It will be remote and asynchronous, and strongly encouraged.

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development during the second week of
intercession be mandatory?