Your child's Visalia Unified School District schedule is changing next year: What to know
Visalia Unified students' schedules are about to change.
For parents it means fewer minimum days. For students and teachers, it means an extra break.
Visalia Unified School District has announced a new calendar and revised bell schedule for the upcoming elementary school year. The changes were done after much consideration for staff, student and family wellness, district officials said.
The revised calendar includes a “fall break” and fewer half days due to parent teacher conferences. The hope is this holiday between Labor Day and Veteran’s Day will help curb absenteeism and behavior problems while also offering a time for teachers and students to rest.
“The purpose of a fall break is to provide a short respite for students and staff and re-invigorate their excitement and focus on learning,” VUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Development Ben Dhillon stated.
In addition to two days off in October, the new calendar shows that conferences will be held over five days instead of seven.
The school year will remain 180 days, per California Law. These revisions were designed by VUSD in collaboration with Visalia Unified Teachers Association. The “fall break” days are made possible by eliminating the February professional development day for teachers and doing away with the local school holiday on the Monday after Easter.
“VUSD and VUTA worked together to implement schedule changes that will give staff and students a necessary break during the longest stretch of the first semester,” said Patrick Hemphill, lead negotiator for VUTA.
VUTA and VUSD committed to this calendar for the next two years.
Based on feedback from students, staff and families, they will reevaluate for the 2026-2027 school year. The fall break will be on Oct. 14 and 15 during the upcoming 2024-2025 school year and Oct. 13 and 14 in 2025-2026.
Out a little earlier
In addition to the calendar changes, Visalia Unified has revised the elementary bell schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. Transitional-kindergarten through sixth grade will start at 8:10 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. every day.
“With this change in our elementary bell schedule, we are committed to providing faculty and staff professional learning opportunities everyday,” Superintendent Shrum said, “while simultaneously providing parents with a more predictable routine, allowing for better planning and coordination."
Students will continue to participate in art, music and physical education in addition to their core academics. Students in TK through third grade will enjoy 40 minutes of art and music once a week, while also participating in PE twice a week. Students in grades four through six, will be offered band, orchestra, choir and classroom music twice a week for 50 minutes each, in addition to PE twice a week.
“We know our community values students participating in art, music, and physical education at an early age.” Board President Jacqueline Gaebe said. “We are proud to be in a good financial position to continue to provide these programs for the 24-25 academic calendar beginning in transitional kindergarten.”
Families needing after-school childcare, can visit VUSD’s website for the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). Visalia Unified is committed to continuous learning and enhancing the overall experience of students and staff.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Visalia Unified School District to change students' schedules
