by KIM HILSENBECK
Hays CISD could be moving to a nine-week grading period instead of the current six week schedule. The school board will vote whether to implement the change at its March meeting, following a recommendation from the district’s school calendar committee.
Superintendent Jeremy Lyon said the nine-week grading period would allow teachers more continuity of uninterrupted instruction.
“That was the driving force of that decision,” Lyon said.
Esperanza Orosco, president of the Hays Educators Association (HEA), a teachers’ union with about 400 members, agreed.
Orosco, a member of the calendar committee, said elementary school teachers like she do a lot of testing and assessment, especially in the first six weeks of school. The move to a nine-week grading period provides time for teachers to do a more thorough evaluation of each student.
“The longer reporting period will allow teachers to provide a more accurate picture of a child’s progress,” Orosco said.
The biggest difference with the policy change, according to the committee, is eligibility for UIL activities, such as sports and theater.
Students who do not meet the minimum grade — 70, though it’s higher for advanced placement courses — cannot participate in extracurricular activities for three weeks, at which point their grades are reevaluated.
Under the six-week grading period, students have four chances to redeem their eligibility; the committee said under the nine-week period, they would have five.
Orosco said the district needs to make sure parents are informed of the policy change and faculty needs to know progress reports are critical for eligibility.
“The committee has had nothing but positive feedback from parents about the policy change,” said Meredith Keller, a Hays CISD board member who served on the calendar committee.
Keller said staff input was also favorable. More than 90 percent of teachers at the elementary level support the nine-week grading period. At the middle and high school level, 60 percent of teachers were in favor of the change.
What about the other 40 percent?
Keller believes they had concerns about the eligibility checks and progress reports. She wants everyone to be educated on the process so they understand it.
The Board of Trustees discussed the issue at the February meeting, with some members expressing concern about the change, particularly for high school student eligibility.
Several board members also wanted more detail on the mechanics of the feedback process, questioning whether the committee had gotten enough input from parents.
