Students Will End School Year with Half Days

The Board of Education Tuesday approved a revised End-of-Year Professional Development Plan that includes five half-days for students during the last week of classes before summer vacation.

The second half of each day will be used for professional development for teachers. 

Professional development planned earlier in the academic year had to be cancelled due to snow. The state mandates that each district provide teachers with at least nine hours of professional development each school year. 

Board members Myron Hul, Christopher Honnen and John Keegan voted against approving the revised plan.   they expressed concerns about eliminating so much teaching time in favor of professional development time.

The proposed plan originally requested seven half-days, but was revised due to concerns that it was taking away too much educational time with too short notice. Students at Hamden High School won't be affected because those days were already scheduled as half-days because students will be taking final exams that week.

But it will impact the end of the year for elementary and middle school students. Parents in attendance Tuesday expressed frustration over having to make alternative child care plans for five consecutive days.

“This imposes a managerial and financial hardship on parents. I also feel very strongly that turning days where children learn for full days into half days does not prioritize the education of our children at all,” said Hamden resident Michelle Rubin.  “Please remember, what’s good for working parents is good for the children.”