On Friday, Dew ISD Superintendent Darrell R. Evans sent a letter to parents informing them of changes to the classroom calendar beginning for the 2023-2024 school year – the transition to a four-day school week.

A community meeting is being held Tuesday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m. in the Dew ISD cafeteria to provide information and take questions.

The new school calendar is expected to be formally approved in a special called board meeting the first week of March, as recommended by Superintendent Evans.

“As you know,” reads Evans’ letter, “Dew ISD has been exploring a four-day calendar for the upcoming year. This has involved surveys, discussions of possible pros and cons, research, and even interviews with districts currently using such calendars.”

The superintendent explains that this new calendar will not result in less than the required minutes taught. What will change is the way the minutes are scheduled.

Why are we considering this?

Our stated goal is that we desire to attract and retain high caliber teachers and staff to Dew ISD. Teacher shortages and geographic competition that pays as much or more than we do are two of the factors that affect our staff. This will allow our staff to still do their planning and maintain their own family and individual time. Our other goal is to ensure that Dew ISD is an attractive school for families and thus increase our enrollment.

What will the calendar look like?

We will have the official calendar ready early in March. You can expect that it will contain the following:
–First day for school August 7. The last day of school will be May 23.
–Most Fridays off for all students.
–All traditional breaks (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, etc.) will look the same.
–School will start at 7:45 a.m. and end at 4:10 p.m.

What is next?
We will continue to share information and listen and answer questions. We know that there are some questions that we will not be able to answer, or some will not be satisfied with our answers. Additionally, there will be a community meeting February 28 at 6:00 p.m. in the Dew ISD cafeteria to provide information and to take questions. We will continue to send you information as it becomes available. We are going to put a “4 Day Week” link on the front page of our website. We will be placing presentations, FAQs, and other documents there.

Dew ISD offers public education for Pre-K through 8th Grade.

Give them a call at 903-389-2828, or visit them online at dewisd.net