On Oct. 26, the District 128 Calendar Committee, consisting of a variety of different staff members, met to discuss the 2016-2017 calendar, focusing primarily on the placement of first-semester final exams. Parents, teachers, administrators, and support staff were all able to voice their opinions on the different possibilities for next year’s schedule.

They are highly contemplating the alteration of first-semester finals to take place prior to winter break, much like most college schedules. This possibility has been up for discussion every year, but this year it is being taken much more seriously according to Dr. Rita Fischer, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Many other area schools including Stevenson High School have also considered making similar adjustments.

The committee must consider several factors when discussing the calendar. These include requirements by both the state of Illinois and District 128 regarding the number of days in the school year and the Lake County Regional Office of Education’s recommended calendar. Dr. Fischer explains that they also try to coordinate as much as possible with the local elementary and middle schools in creating similar calendars per the requests of many community members with children at multiple schools.

A proposed plan for the 2016-2017 calendar includes an August 15 start date and first-semester finals taking place before winter break. Second semester would then start immediately after break and end prior to Memorial Day.

Dr. Fischer recognizes that it will benefit students having “finals exams administered as instruction concludes rather than after a long break and having more instructional time second semester before AP exams,” but “it’s challenging to create a calendar that doesn’t create conflicts with various groups.”

The teacher representatives on the committee supported the plan’s movement and the exploration of the calendar’s change. Although Mr. Dennis Duffy, a Libertyville Social Studies teacher, asserts that there is no real research that verifies that setting final exams prior to break helps test scores and putting them after break lowers test scores, he is in favor of testing out the new calendar change.

“For a really long time, teachers have proposed this idea to move finals before winter break in an effort to help students on the socio-emotional side,” describes Mr. Duffy.

By moving finals up, both the students and staff believe that they will be able to have a more enjoyable winter break as they won’t need to stress about the looming tests.

According to Caroline Schaffer, a sophomore at Libertyville High School, the change will “keep students more motivated to study if they know they have winter break to look forward to.”

A final committee meeting will take place on Nov. 12 in order to finalize feedback to superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea. Ultimately, the decision rests with Dr. Lea, which would be followed by the District 128 Board of Education’s approval. Dr. Lea will present his proposed calendar to the Board on Dec. 14. The board will then vote on whether or not to adopt the plan.