The Midland ISD School Board is giving students extra time to catch up by adding two weeks of intersession after the recent approval of the 2021-2022 academic calendar.
Students in grades K-6 who are academically behind will be able to take advantage of the intersession break. Secondary students will have the weeks off with the possibility of students in 7-12 grades to receive additional help in the future during those weeks.
"These additional windows of time will be critical for our students who require additional assistance, particularly in the area of reading," Interim Superintendent Dr. Ann Dixon told Midland ISD.
Reading has been identified as a fundamental skill that must be improved across the district, in order to realize academic gains.
Although there is a two-week break for the upcoming academic year, students will still spend more time in school than before.
"This is built-in time where we can offer the students additional help when they need it, not months later," Dixon told Midland ISD. "Intersessions allow us to intervene with students midstream, rather than them getting further and further behind all year."
There were 172 instructional days in the 2020-2021 school year, whereas the new 2021-2022 calendar includes 180 days of instruction and an added 10 days of intersessional programming.
"Some parents fear this is just extra time off for students, but this plan actually means more time spent in class," Dixon told Midland ISD. "With this calendar, we are able to increase the number of total school days and still hold graduation at the traditional time."
Studies show that shorter summers improve student performance compared to long summer breaks that create a frenzy of students playing catch up.
Once COVID-19 ravished the U.S. in 2020, talks of intersession began between leaders in the District and Socorro ISD representatives at a public board meeting.