New Waverly ISD Community Meeting Insights

New Waverly ISD 4-Day Community Meeting January 26, 2023

Overview a.Growth of district since 2011 890 (2011); 1070 (2023) b.Strong Community support i.Passed TRE AND Recent Bond ii.All taxes primarily on homeowners due to tax base c.Facilities d.Strong reputation and success

Goal NWISD believes in offering the best education possible and recognizes that in order to continue offering a high-quality education, we need to retain and recruit high quality educators. Additionally, we want to examine ways to improve quality of life for all stakeholder groups.

Constraints to Goal a. Financial b. Housing c. Facility d. Societal

Constraints to Goal District District Starting Starting salary salary Difference of Difference of NWISD and NWISD and other ISD other ISD Salary at 25 Salary at 25 years exp. years exp. Difference Difference New Waverly New Waverly 40,195 40,195 60,980 60,980 Willis Willis 55,000 55,000 - -14,805 14,805 69,750 69,750 - -8770 8770 Conroe Conroe 60,000 60,000 - -19,805 19,805 69,570 69,570 - -8,770 8,770 Coldspring Coldspring- - Oakhurst Oakhurst Huntsville Huntsville 49,000 49,000 - -8,805 8,805 59,700 59,700 +1,280 +1,280 47,500 47,500 - -7,305 7,305 61,100 61,100 - -120 120 Anderson Anderson- - Shiro Shiro 45,655 45,655 - -5,460 5,460 58,405 58,405 +2575 +2575

Constraints to Goal a. Financial 5 closest districts out pay NWISD at starting wages and most at 25 years experience Good staffs have balance of experiences Would take in the range of $750,000-1,000,000 additional funds to reach salary between two closest districts only teachers and not benefits

Constraints to Goal a. Financial b. Housing/location Limited affordable housing exists within district New construction is occurring but currently begins at $500,000 range New staff literally drive past higher paying jobs to come to work

Constraints to Goal a. Financial b. Housing/location c. Facility 2 campuses are 50+ years old and present challenges from appearance, safety and security Bond helps but facilities are a draw to younger teachers/staff with families

Constraints to Goal a. Financial b. Housing/location c. Facilities d. Societal Pandemic, reputation in media, burn-out, overwhelmed service industries facing shortages Fewer teachers entering the career and more leaving each year

Statement of Problem Research again and again shows that the teacher has the greatest impact on learning Constraints make retention and recruiting high-quality teachers difficult Anecdotal where once multiple candidates existed, we are limited to 1 or less To remain competitive, we need to examine incentives that are beyond financial

Possible Solution We believe that the implementation of a 4-Day instructional week may offer NWISD a pathway to retain and attract high quality instructors and improve learning conditions that will allow our students to continue their success. Since our constraints will not allow us to be competitive in those perspectives, we believe that we must offer incentives that will improve morale, quality of life, and autonomy.

Process Growing trend research seems to indicate positives and challenges Admin began process by discussing research and pros and cons early on District committee was put together to examine the problem and solution from perspective of all programs Parent committee formed via all volunteers

Process Surveys were conducted Parent meetings held Community meeting held All information will be presented to Board of Trustees

Summary of Research Impact on instruction seems to vary depending on district Districts in Texas that have used this for retention/recruiting claim great success National research suggests scores may or may not drop some (varies) but reported fewer discipline issues and more students getting more sleep. Also majority of families surveyed reported more family time etc. Staff reported greater satisfaction

Summary of Research Regardless of reason for choosing 4-day week, research indicates that over 60-70% of the community never wants to return to 5 day after first year Anecdotal research from Corrigan, Latexo, and Athens also support this.

Assumptions Schools are required to have 75,600 minutes. Teachers and students will not have less learning time than the minimum required (same as now) For this to be an effective recruiting and retention tool we desire to keep the off-day protected as much as possible Teachers work a great deal of time at home grading, planning etc. This will still occur but more autonomy on when it happens

Assumptions No reduction in pay for personnel from the required minutes perspective there is no change. We are restructuring time and it s usage Due to being a District of Innovation we actually begin adding minutes to our calendar many years ago we have exceeded the number of minutes required often.

Surveys (Parents) 387 responses (191 elementary, 96 Int., 166 Jh, 139 hs) (592 students represented) 77.8% in favor of 4 Day 66.9% in favor of Friday off 74.7% said no need for child care info

Surveys Students Summary Students: 357 responses 82.9% in favor of 4 Day 58% in favor of Monday off 76.6% said they were involved in activities

Surveys Staff Summary Faculty: 111 responses 91% in favor of 4 Day 53.2% in favor of Monday off

Academic Calendar Current calendar suggestion: Normally we average 164-167 days of instruction but that included 3+ days of bad weather scheduling. Staff indicated a need for students and staff to have 2 months off (June and July) Most staff felt like 3:30-3:40 p.m. was a good time for day to end (added additional 20+ minutes per day) AND retain starting times (with some tweaks internally)

Academic Calendar Current calendar Calendars being evaluated would begin with students on August 7 2 questions which day? And Why 5 days in May? Looked at many data points State required testing requires at least consideration

Data Points Attendance Data Last year 490 more absences on Friday than Monday not counting extra curriculars (students) This year Friday is running ahead with about 30-40 absences Staff wise was nearly the same HOWEVER there are 2 more Friday absences than Monday AND 3 more Fridays!

Data Points Extra-curricular points Many events especially high school have Friday/Saturday events concern raised how much school FFA, UIL, etc. will miss Much of JH gets back late on Thursdays Transportation on Fridays From school standpoint we now recommend Fridays due to all the data pieces.

Areas of Impact Students Instruction Extra-curriculars Parents Operations Special Education Technology CTE Food service Transportation HR Maintenance

Frequently Asked Questions How much are we reducing school year? Technically we are not . We must have open school time for all students that is equal to 75,600 minutes. Minutes the same slightly longer days but currently 13 fewer days than our average NOT 20% reduction. Most importantly we know that teachers work a great deal outside of teaching .we are not reducing that time at all!

Frequently Asked Questions What about child care? We believe this is important for our families however data shows that majority plan to take care of this on their own. We will provide lists of resources: local day care, YMCA, perhaps local church involvement. We want to provide opportunities but each family will have different needs or situations.

Frequently Asked Questions What about meals for students? We have looked at options. One option is to make a meal/bag that has food available for pre-order take home on Thursday or even a pick up solution for those would prefer that option. How long will we do this? We recommend 3 year evaluation where we look at scores, surveys, attendance data, financial data, teacher retention data, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions Why recommend Fridays over Mondays? Again based on data (attendance, transportation, subs, time away from class) and where the greatest impact is for staff and students, the recommendation is for Fridays. Will there still be athletic events on Fridays? Yes, there is no change there. We have been in contact with several school districts who do this now and gotten information as to how, why, effectiveness etc.

Frequently Asked Questions Does anyone get their pay cut? NO. There is no change in the work load for staff; however the dividing up of the load is changed time wise. What will the calendar look like? We still have some tweaking but in general we will have 154-157 days of school approx. Same starting time and schools dismissed by 3:40

Frequently Asked Questions Will traditional holidays get cut? NO. we have all our normal holidays with the same breakdown of time. Students will still have June and July Is staff required to attend Fridays? Our goal is about giving staff the ability to make good educational decisions. We plan on requiring once per 6 weeks professional development. Others?

Frequently Asked Questions What might a calendar look like?