Gwinnett Daily Post

SUWANEE - Gwinnett County Public Schools is considering three options for upcoming school year calendars.

The calendar for the 2009-10 year has already been adopted by the Gwinnett County Board of Education, but school officials have developed two alternatives to the district's traditional calendar.

A survey of about 11,000 staff members showed most employees preferred the first choice, which includes weeklong breaks at Thanksgiving and in February, Chief Academic Officer Steve Flynt said. With this calendar, students would return to school on a Thursday instead of a Monday.

During the February break, also called academic intercession, schools could choose to offer interventions or enrichments to students, Flynt said. Extended year funding is available from the state for schools that choose to offer such programming.

The second calendar option includes a weeklong break at Thanksgiving and student/teacher holidays in January and April. The school year would start on a Monday.

The third option is similar to the school system's current calendar, with a three days off at Thanksgiving.

The school board will adopt one of the choices for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 years, but the district has no plans to solicit community input on the calendars.