Milwaukee Public Schools move some schools to early start calendar in 2017 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
December 23, 2016
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors voted unanimously to move all secondary schools, International Baccalaureate schools and year-round schools to an early start on August 14, 2017 at Thursday’s meeting.
The board also asked the administration to pursue further research on changing the K-8 elementary school calendar in the future.  Traditional elementary schools will start on Sept. 5, 2017.
The early start calendar proposal is part of the district’s plan to improve outcomes for students. While MPS schools are showing signs of growth and have moved up a grade in the state report card, there is much work to do, particularly in high schools and middle schools:
“I want to thank the Board for standing up for our young people and supporting an opportunity for students to have this extra learning time,” said MPS Superintendent Darienne Driver.
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The proposed change to the calendar allows for the addition of a “J-term”, a four-week optional credit recovery and enrichment program in June in between the end of the regular school year and traditional summer school in July. The additional learning time the J-term provides, along with the early start in mid-August, gives students more time to catch up, keep up and get ahead in school.