Update: The next School Board meeting will now be held on Wednesday, Jan. 15, not Wednesday, Jan. 8, as previously stated.
JACKSON, Wyo. — On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Teton County School District #1 School Board of Trustees discussed how an early release for students on Fridays could potentially impact student learning and working parents. The proposed schedule, which could begin as early as the next (2025/2026) school year, would end the school day 2.5 hours early to give teachers time to collaborate.
TCSD Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Dr. Scott Crisp presented the proposal before the Board of Trustees. He said that the profession of teaching has changed into more of a team sport and that Friday afternoons would give teachers time to address student learning, goals and district-wide mandates.
He also recommended moving state required Professional Development (PD) and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) teacher trainings to Friday afternoons. He said that this would allow teachers to remain in the classroom during the week. Data compiling the number of hours that teachers leave the classroom for PD and PLC has not yet become available, according to the district.
In response to the proposal, Trustee Kate Mead said that K-5 students would lose 57 hours of classroom instruction time during the school year if the new scheduled were adopted.
“We always say the classroom time is the most important time,” Mead stressed. “I do see working together as a good thing for teachers but losing those hours is a real concern, especially for some who are not reading yet and need the instruction.”
According to the proposal, an early Friday release of 12:30 or 1 p.m. would reduce K-5 classroom time from 1,035 hours to 978 hours over the course of the school year. Middle school students would be released on Fridays at 1:30 p.m., which would decrease classroom time from 1,025 hours to 987 hours.
Jackson Hole High School would be let out at 1:30 p.m. on Fridays. Due to new morning FLEX hours, however, individual student instruction time could end up growing from 1,011 to 1,112 hours. The FLEX program would allow teachers 35 minutes every morning to provide personalized student support.
The calendar days would increase for all Teton County schools from 175 to 179 days.
Trustee Stephen Abrams said that if students are going to lose classroom instruction, then parents need confidence that the teacher collaboration time would benefit their child’s learning.
“How will this provide a better path for a student?” Abrams said.
Trustee Jerry Bosch added that concrete data and studies are needed to prove that the schedule change would be effective for students and parents.
“Go into the Latino community and talk to them,” Bosch said. “Childcare is going to be hard for hundreds of people. Parents would need to find after-school care or leave work early. I need specifics about what will come out of this.”
The proposal states that the district is looking into Friday afternoon programming for K-5 students, along with bus transportation to these programs. Parents/guardians would be required to pick up their children at the end of the activity. Friday programming would only be provided to grades K-5, according to the district.
Abrams said that many parents rely on the school for home drop-off and might not be able to pick up their child from a Friday afternoon activity. He suggested limiting teacher collaboration to once a month as a compromise.
During Wednesday’s meeting, only two parents shared public comments, one of whom was Jackson resident Katie Murphy, who has two young children at Colter Elementary. She told the Board that the proposed schedule would be a drastic change for the community.
“I want to learn more about alternatives,” Murphy said. “It’s a little scary because it’s the holiday time and parents’ attention is diverted. The vote in January is too early.”
TCSD Executive Director of Communications and District Services Charlotte Reynolds told Buckrail that the 2025-2026 calendar is only in the initial stages of review and that public feedback is still being assessed. A survey has gone out to staff for feedback to help inform the decision. A Zoom meeting led by Dr. Crisp was offered on Thursday, Dec. 12 to inform parents about the proposed changes, and approximately 81 residents logged in. Public comment was not received during this discussion.
The next School Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, and public comment will be taken. Public comments can also be sent to schoolboard@tcsd.org. The earliest the board would vote on the proposed calendar change would be at that meeting.
