Edgar nixes spring break for 2024-25 calendar

By Kevin O’Brien

Members of the Edgar School Board approved a 2024-2025 school calendar last week that does not include a spring break in 2025, but they left open the possibility of bringing back a weeklong vacation in March of alternating years.

The calendar approved by the board at its Jan. 17 meeting followed the recommendation of district administrator Cari Guden, who said she took staff input into account when developing the proposal. Based on staff survey results from the past six years, Guden said teachers and other faculty have consistently been split “50/50” on whether to have a spring break.

“I foresee maybe doing it every other year to try to accommodate both the ones who want it and the ones that don’t,” she said, noting that a few teachers thanked her for not scheduling a spring break next year.

Guden said not having a full week off in March will allow teachers to have more student contact days without having to extend the school year further into June. This year’s spring break is slated for March 25-29, the week leading up to Easter Sunday, and last year, it fell on the third week of March. Even though next year’s calendar does not have a full week off in March, it does include days off on April 17, 18 and 21, 2025, before and after Easter weekend.

Board member Megan Wesolowski said she’s heard from several parents who would like to see some consistency when it comes to spring break so they know when to schedule time off from their jobs. Otherwise, she said they may need to take their kids out of class so they can go on a family vacation in the spring.

Guden said it’s not uncommon for parents to take their kids out of school at different times of the school year based on their work schedules, which don’t always match up with the district’s designated spring break. She also noted that Edgar tries to line up its spring break with the Wausau and D.C. Everest school districts, to accommodate staff whose kids attend classes there. Student representative Cael Higgins said many of his classmates “definitely enjoy” having a full week off for spring break, especially groups like high school band and the track team that like to plan trips during that time.

For the sake of both families and teachers, board Alison Reinders said it would be helpful for the district to maintain a consistent pattern of having spring break every other year.

“You can try to plan around it,” she said.

Dual credit debate continues

Board members inched closer to changing the way the high school determines grades for dual-credit college classes, but they

See EDGAR/ page 3

Cael Higgins

Cari Guden Edgar

Continued from page 1

stopped short of making a decision until district staff could confirm that the change would work within the district’s student records software.

In response to concerns from parents who say the current quarterly grading system disadvantages students looking to maintain a high gradepoint average, Guden laid out four options for the board to consider.

One option would be to eliminate quarterly grades for dual-credit classes and another would be to keep them intact. Other options include rolling the quarter grade into the full-semester grade or only assigning quarter grades if an Edgar instructor, not a college professor, is teaching the class.

A couple board members said any options beyond staying with quarterly grades or eliminating them altogether would be confusing to both students and teachers. Since the colleges themselves only give semester grades, Reinders said it would make sense for Edgar High School to follow suit.

“If we’re truly preparing our kids for college, then the expectation would be that you work all semester and you get your grade at the end of the semester,” she said. “I think it does cause confusion if you do put a quarter grade in there.”

Right now, students are graded on a quarterly basis for all high school courses, regardless of whether they are dual-credit or not, because it aligns with the district’s block schedule curriculum. However, parents Corey and Tina Higgens have said giving quarterly grades for collegelevel classes makes it harder for Edgar students to maintain a high GPA and compete for scholarships with students in neighboring districts.

Lisa Witt, the district’s curriculum coordinator, said she wanted to check with Skyward, a software company that handles student records, before any changes are made, so the topic was tabled until February.

Other business

n The board voted to set open enrollment numbers for 2024-2025, with no limitations in any grade for regular education classes and no openings in special education programs.

n The board approved the hiring of a 60 percent part-time instructor for four-year-old kindergarten, which will allow the district to continue offering parents the choice of three or five days a week. Based on a survey of 4K parents, elementary principal Lisa Witt said 18 of them wanted their kids in class five days a week, and 12 preferred three days.

“We would like to honor the wishes of our families,” she said As part of the plan to pay for a new 4K teacher, the district will be eliminating two part-time para positions that were started at the beginning of this year. Witt said the choice was made to prioritize keeping the 4K program going as it exists now.

n The board accepted the resignation of art teacher Jackie Imhoff, who will leave her position at the end of the year after splitting her time between the Edgar and Marathon school districts. Guden said a job opening has been posted for a part-time art teacher just at Edgar, but if the district is unable to fill the position, it may work with Marathon again to share a full-time teacher.

n The board approved a district-sponsored trip for two students and Spanish teacher Bobi Jo Hazs to attend a weekend course at Concordia Language Village in Bemidji, Minn. Hazs said the students will only be allowed to speak Spanish during their time at the institute, giving them an opportunity to improve their bilingual skills.

n Board members reviewed results from a “Why Stay in Edgar” survey given to staff, which will be used instead of exit interviews in the future to gauge staff satisfaction. Guden said she was surprised to learn that half of the 77 respondents had looked for another job outside the district during the past year, but many of them also indicated being happy working in Edgar.