Flagler board asks staff to study half‑day calendar options to expand teacher professional learning

Board members on the Flagler County School Board asked Superintendent Moore on Monday to examine calendar changes that could create more structured professional‑learning time for teachers, including proposals such as regular half‑day Wednesdays.

At the meeting, a board member said the district is seeing more inexperienced teachers and that neighboring counties have used early‑release or half‑day models to help with training. Superintendent Moore said the draft calendar currently includes four professional‑learning days (two pre‑planning days, an election‑day slot in August and a January date) and that staff will "look at working this year really to identify any additional days" suitable for professional learning while engaging stakeholders before making major changes.

Moore cautioned the board that staff will study costs and how schedule changes would affect support‑staff shifts and family supports, and said the district will return detailed information to the board at next week’s 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. meetings for further consideration.

Board members asked staff to include examples from other districts; one member cited Hillsborough and Osceola counties as having established half‑day schedules aligned with testing calendars. Moore said staff will provide sample calendars and describe how other districts balance planning time and professional learning in those half days.

Next steps: staff will compile stakeholder feedback, cost estimates and schedule models and present them at the board’s next meetings for possible calendar adoption.