Hoover Board of Education revises 2022-23 school calendar
The Hoover Board of Education on Tuesday night revised the calendar for the 2022-2023 school year.
The calendar previously approved would have given students a winter break between Wednesday, Dec. 21, and Tuesday, Jan. 3, with students returning to school on Wednesday, Jan. 4. The new calendar approved Tuesday night will add two more days at the beginning of the break, making the break begin Monday, Dec. 19, and still ending on Jan. 3 and students still returning on Jan. 4.
The net effect is 12 days off from what normally would be instructional days instead of 10 instructional days off. Superintendent Dee Fowler, who recommended the change, said he wanted to provide students and their families two Monday-through-Friday full weeks out of school.
The new calendar also makes Friday, April 14, 2023, an e-learning day instead of a regular instructional day and requires students to come to school on Feb. 21, which previously was designated as a teacher workday. Teachers instead will be able to "flex" some workshops into the summer, Fowler said.
The school board on Tuesday also agreed to hire Aho Architects to draw up plans for more seating and lighting at Bumpus Middle School's football field. The field lacks a press box, stadium seating and up-to-date lighting, said Matt Wilson, director of operations for Hoover City Schools. The budget for the overall project is $5 million, school officials said.
Chris Robbins, chief learning officer for the school district, gave the school board a list of recommended textbooks, which the board approved.
“Historically, the state Board of Education will issue a thorough listing of K-12 textbooks, and then local committees will move forward with adopting from that listing,” Robbins said. “These (Hoover City Schools textbook) committees have met multiple times in the last three months to review possible selections and to find the selections that best meets the needs of our students and our teachers. Many thanks to the teachers, parents and administrators that have served on those committees.”