T he Mesa Public Schools Governing Board recently got a view of a proposed alternative calendar that included more breaks during the academic year and a full week off for Thanksgiving instead of the current two days.

At the board’s direction, the superintendent convened a committee to develop a non-standard school calendar completely different from the one in place. The 18-member team included district administrators, teachers and parents.

“Initially we wanted to align better with our surrounding districts but we soon realized that every district was slightly different,” said Samantha Hildreth, a parent and co-facilitator of the design team at the Sept. 25 meeting.

“We also concluded that most families and staff didn’t want to go back to work and school too early in July.”

The alterna

See Full Page