The Sequim school calendar for the 2015-2016 school year already saw some changes earlier this year and it may be in for more.

With state school officials eyeing a 1,080-hour minimum requirement for students, Sequim school officials tweaked the school calendar for next fall that eliminated late-start Mondays teachers were using for professional development.

But superintendent Kelly Shea later discovered the state isn’t holding districts to the 1,080-hour minimum just yet. With that in mind, Sequim schools hosted an online survey that saw more than 780 responses indicating late-start Mondays were not as much a hardship on local families as anticipated, Shea said.

Now the district is in a position to keep the schedule as is (no Monday late starts), reinstate late-start Mondays or offer a third solution: to regain professional development time for teachers, Sequim administrators floated the idea of moving 20 of the 30 minutes teachers are on campus after school to the beginning of the day, all five days of the working week.

That would give teachers 50 minutes of professional development time each day and it also would create a change in the daily schedule for students. Sequim students attending any school except for Greywolf Elementary School would start their day at 8:35 a.m. (they normally start at 8:15 a.m.) and end the school day at 3:05 p.m. (normally, 2:45 p.m.). Greywolf students would attend classes from 8:50 a.m.-3:20 p.m., rather than the standard 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The move would require teachers be on campus for 10 minutes after the school day — not 30, as required now — to meet with parents and/or students. Shea said the so-called “50/10” model received support for Sequim teachers.

Sequim school board members balked at any change to the calendar on Monday, June 15, seeking to gather more information. They may make a decision as late as their July 20 regular board meeting.

Hi-Cap gets change

Gary Neal, assistant superintendent for Sequim schools, said the district’s Highly Capable program will get an overhaul this summer, likely adding parent advocate groups for three grade levels (K-5, 6-8 and high school).

“We kind of need to hit the reset button (and) use resources better,” Neal told Sequim School Board of directors Monday night.

On Monday, the board approved the hiring of a Highly Capable Coordinator/teacher position to Robin Forrest for the 2015-2016 school year.

In May, the board accepted a letter of resignation from Highly Capable Program coordinator Margaret Whitley.

Harker moving on

Scott Harker, Sequim Middle School assistant principal, has a new position, but it isn’t in the Sequim School District.

On June 12, Port Angeles School District officials announced Harker is their new human resources director.

He replaces Kimberly O’Neil, who submitted her resignation to pursue another position.

“Scott Harker’s extensive work experience in education, his qualifications and knowledge provide a perfect fit for the Port Angeles School District’s human resources department,” Mark Jackson, superintendent of Port Angeles Schools, said.

Harker was the assistant principal at Sequim Middle School for five years; prior to that, Harker worked for Port Angeles schools for 10 years, including five as principal at Port Angeles High School.

Other board actions

On June 15, Sequim School Board directors, among other actions, approved the following:

• Offered teaching contracts to Celine Aston-Smith (third grade), Olivia Catelli (kindergarten), Erin Gray (kindergarten), Leif Hendricksen (middle school language arts), Kim Knudson (second grade) and Anna Lee (grades 3-5 resource room teacher) for the 2015-2016 school year

• Offered contracts to specialists Jennifer Kent-Lynn (math/reading specialist) and Holly Thornton (elementary physical education)

• Accepted resignations of Tricia Billes (Sequim Middle School language arts teacher), Judith Nix (special education teacher) and Leah Vaara (para-educator)

• Approved a district Transitional Bilingual Education Program for 2015-2016, and

• Approved a contract for services with Simpson Electric LLC to retrofit district area lighting.