At the March 16th regular board meeting, the Grant Parish School Board voted to adopt a four-day school week for the 2023-2024 academic year. There will be 155 school days in the new calendar with 415 instructional minutes versus the traditional calendar that had 171 school days with 385 instructional minutes. August will consist of four five-day weeks with the four-day weeks beginning in September to coincide with the Labor Day holiday. Monday, October 30th, will be a school day in exchange for Friday, November 3rd, the Pecan Festival holiday. Thursday, November 2nd, will be the only early release day on the academic calendar. January will also be five-day weeks with the exception of January 15th which is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Monday, April 22, 2024, will also be a school day because of the LEAP testing schedule.

The Grant Parish School Board and I understand that this is a dramatic change from the traditional calendar and we realize that not everyone agrees that this is the best course of action. The hope is that this change will attract qualified teachers to our parish. No calendar is perfect, but we hope that everyone in Grant parish will pull together to make this work for the children of our parish. Hopefully we can find businesses, churches, and individuals that can assist in alleviating the problem of childcare on Mondays.

Grant parish schools have seen unprecedented success lately. Our District Performance score ranks 15th in the state overall and 5th in growth. I have every confidence that our faculty, staff, and administration will continue to provide an excellent education for our children.

Sincerely,

Paxton Teddlie,

Superintendent