Crosby ISD School Board votes to move to 4-day school weeks
CROSBY, Texas - The Crosby Independent School District School Board has voted to move to 4-day school weeks.
The vote, which was held on Monday night, was 4-3 in favor of moving to the reduced school week.
The decision makes Crosby ISD the first school district in Harris County to approve the move.
The new academic school calendar will take effect starting for the 2023-2024 school year.
In a release, school officials said Fridays will be student holidays from September through mid-April. Teachers and instructional staff will work one Friday a month for staff development from September through mid-April.
School officials added that each school day will have an additional 20 to 25 minutes added to instructional time.
Crosby ISD Superintendent Paula Patterson, said, "Our why is simple and straightforward. We want to find, recruit, and retain the best teachers in the state in the classrooms for our students. This change immediately makes Crosby ISD a top destination for educators in Harris County. Our move will attract even more exceptional teachers for our students, leading to high-quality academic outcomes. We also believe this move will increase our recruitment of bus drivers, who are vital in getting our students to and from school safely and on time."
Crosby ISD Board of Trustees President JR Humphries, said, "In my personal view, the 4-day calendar recommendation from Mrs. Patterson and her administration was a bold, strategic move that evolved after much deliberation with her team as well as with feedback from the staff, the students, and the community at large. I believe the academic considerations, the community implications, and the staff impact were all meticulously examined, and I was impressed with the forthright, abundant information that was made available to the community throughout this process. While I know some community members are uncomfortable with this decision, I’m looking forward to this next step for the district to retain and recruit the best educators in the state for our kids. I truly believe Crosby ISD and the Crosby-Barrett Station community will be even stronger moving forward with this decision."
Crosby ISD will begin the 2023-2024 Academic Year on August 7, 2023. The four-day instructional week schedule begins in September.