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ASD cancels spring parent conferences to make up for emergency closures - Students to attend full-day schedule March 25-27

February 3, 2009

Contact: Heidi Embley
ASD Communications
Phone: 907-742-4158
E-mail: embley_heidi@asdk12.org
Web: www.asdk12.org

ASD cancels spring parent conferences to make up for emergency closures
Students to attend full-day schedule March 25-27

Superintendent Carol Comeau is canceling spring parent-teacher conferences in order to make up for lost school days. The change will convert two half-days to full-days and an in-service day to a full day of instruction. All ASD students will now attend full-day school schedules March 25-27.

The calendar change, approved today by Larry LeDoux, state commissioner of education and early development, makes up for missed school days due to emergency school closures in January. The schedule change puts the district back in line with the required 170 days of instruction. Prior to the start of the school year, Commissioner LeDoux granted ASD a waiver to count the half-days used for conferences as full days of instruction. As a result, the district was already under the 170-days of instructional time required by the state. In order for the ASD to be granted the waiver to use the in-service on March 27 as the make-up instructional day, the district had to revert the previously waived half-days back to full days.

“We are very appreciative the commissioner acted promptly and approved the request,” said Comeau.

The commissioner also approved a waiver to West High School for its school closure on November 19, noting it was “due to an unavoidable emergency caused by an outside entity.”

The calendar changes will allow the school year to end as scheduled on May 21 for all ASD schools.

If the district has any closures during the remainder of the school year, the calendar may be altered further.

The district is closely monitoring the situation with Redoubt Volcano. Depending on the timing and severity of an eruption and potential ashfall in the Anchorage bowl, the district is prepared to shelter students in place.

“If Redoubt erupts, we will deal with it as necessary,” said Comeau. “We have safety considerations in place and feel we can keep children safe inside the schools if an eruption were to occur during the school day.”

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