Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Marple Newtown proposes Paxton Hollow schedule overhaul, shifts professional development into August
Summary
District and Paxton Hollow administrators presented a proposed middle-school schedule and a 2025–26 calendar that moves three June professional‑development days into August, adds an academic-flex period, and aims to increase instructional minutes and intervention capacity without additional cost to the district.
Dr. T.J. Gretchen, a Paxton Hollow administrator, presented a proposed overhaul of Paxton Hollow Middle School’s daily schedule and the Marple Newtown School District 2025–26 academic calendar during the Jan. 14 school board meeting.
The proposal would start the 2025–26 school year after Labor Day, move three professional‑development (PD) days from June into August, and restructure middle‑school time to add intervention and seminar periods for sixth through eighth grades. "Time is our greatest asset," Dr. Gretchen said, explaining the district wants to front‑load PD so teachers can apply training throughout the year.
The nut graf — why it matters: district staff say the changes aim to increase students' instructional minutes, create built‑in intervention windows for reading and math, reduce class sizes by adding sections, and provide a 6th‑grade seminar to support students’ transition to middle school. Administrators said these changes can be implemented without…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
