The Farmington Municipal School Board adopted a new calendar for the 2023-2024 academic year at its meeting Tuesday. The change occurred in response to House Bill 130, which extended the school day, and the number of days students attend school.
“They’re minimal changes,” said Roberto Taboada, public information officer for Farmington Municipal Schools. “I think we make some sensible changes.”
The board decided to begin the school year for all students Aug. 11 with kindergarten and ninth grade students beginning Aug. 10. The school year will end May 24, 2024. This meets the bills mandate for students to receive 180 instructional days or more.
Under HB 130, students are required to receive 1,140 instructional hours, with “up to 60 instructional hours per school year for elementary grades and 30 instructional hours for middle and high school grades” being used as professional work hours for teachers embedded within the course of a normal workday.
“A ‘professional work hour’ means time during which a teacher participates in professional work aligned to challenging academic content and performance standards,” the bill stated.
Farmington schools will continue to have early release days for professional development. The release times will be 11:30 a.m. for elementary schools, 12:30 p.m. for middle schools and 12:10 p.m. for high schools. Early releases will occur on Mondays, with the exception of Aug. 11 and May 24, 2024.
School release times have changed for all grade levels, with elementary schools increasing classroom time by 20 minutes and releasing students at 3:05 p.m. Middle schools increased the day by 10 minutes, releasing at 3:45 p.m., and high schools increased class time by three minutes with the day ending at 3:15 p.m.
Taboada said the changes also work for transportation services. “This gives the bus drivers more time to deliver our students and come back.”
Aztec Municipal Schools will follow the same calendar as Farmington, according to the district’s social media pages. Kirtland and Bloomfield school districts have not released their 2023-24 calendars yet.
