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St. Bernard schools to add 10 minutes to daily schedule in February and March to meet state instructional-minute requirement
Summary
Superintendent announced a two-month, 10-minute daily extension beginning Feb. 1 to make up instructional minutes lost to recent closures; no board vote required because calendar approved earlier.
St. Bernard Parish School Board Superintendent Miss Voci announced the district will add 10 minutes to the end of each school day from Feb. 1 through March 31 to make up instructional minutes lost during recent weather- and infrastructure-related closures.
The measure, the superintendent said during the board's Jan. 28 meeting under superintendent's notes, is intended to satisfy a statewide requirement on total instructional minutes. "State law mandates for public schools that we have ... instructional minutes per year," she said, noting the district must meet the statutory total. The change does not alter morning start times; dismissal at each school will be delayed by 10 minutes for the two-month period.
The superintendent said the adjustment avoids changing calendar dates already approved by the board and therefore does not require additional board action. "All we're doing is adding 10 minutes to the end of each day in the month of February and in the month of March," she said. The district will notify parents and update bus schedules; transportation arrival times home will shift by approximately 10 minutes.
Nut graf: The district made the decision after five school days were lost earlier this school year — closures that included a multi-day winter weather event and other operational issues — and leaders determined that modest schedule adjustments over two months would be the least disruptive way to meet the statutory instructional-minute requirement without reopening the calendar.
Board members asked for clarification about start times and the implementation date. The superintendent confirmed the start-of-day times remain unchanged and said communications will go out via school channels and the district Facebook page. The district's union representative was consulted and, according to the superintendent, agreed with the approach.
The superintendent described how dismissal times will shift at representative school tiers: high schools that previously dismissed at 2:30 p.m. will dismiss at 2:40 p.m.; middle schools at 3:10 p.m. instead of 3 p.m.; and elementary schools at 3:40 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m. A small number of schools that already dismiss at 3:40 p.m. will move to 3:50 p.m.
Ending: The superintendent said the adjustment will be re-evaluated if further closures occur. "If anything else comes up that we would have to cancel school for any reason, we would have to make up that time," she said. The district will communicate details to families before the change takes effect.
