Johnna Pinholster
ADEL — While Cook County’s 2010-11 academic year will be shorter, the days will be longer.
On Monday, the Cook County Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a 160-day modified school calendar for the upcoming school year.
In a previous interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, Superintendent Dr. Fred Rayfield said the required seat time will be made up by extending each school day by 30 minutes.
The 30 minutes added to each school day will be split — with 15 minutes added to the morning and 15 minutes added to the afternoon, he said.
The Cook County School System will begin the 2010-2011 school year on Aug. 23 and end on May 13, 2011.
To ensure that teachers meet the requirements of their contracts, which require them to work hours equaling a 190-day contract, their work days will be extended by 45 minutes and they will work 170 days on the modified calendar.
The 160-day school calendar meets the Georgia Department of Education requirements, as well as that of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an accreditation agency.
The hope, with the modified calendar, is to avoid furlough days if they are required in the future and save jobs that could be lost with the seemingly continuous loss in state revenue, Rayfield said.
