October 9, 2025 • 29 mins
We sit down with Dr. Fallon Graham to unpack how our school calendar gets built, why Labor Day timing matters, and how state rules, summer projects, and family needs all fit into one plan. We share the two-year proposal and invite our community to weigh in with informed feedback.
• late Labor Day and its ripple effects
• 180 days, 990 hours, and high school seat time
• four-by-four block benefits and constraints
• why elementary has three added workdays
• summer construction, tech, transport, and cleaning windows
• how we count minutes and bank time
• community survey results favoring post–Labor Day starts
• draft review by operations, T&L, and principals
• two-year calendar proposal for better planning
• how to review the presentation and give feedback
Make sure that you are looking for your input survey. You’ll find it in the family updates and on the Chesapeake Schools website, www.cpschools.com. The survey’s open through October 19th.
The Stories Behind Our Story
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
You're listening to Amplify, the Chesapeake Public
Schools podcast.
Your front row seat to thestories behind our story.
Hey everyone, this is MattGraham here with Jay Looter.
(00:22):
And we are in full swing.
The year has started.
SPEAKER_02 (00:25):
We are, Matt.
Listen, school is uh about amonth in now.
It is October, and all of ourkids are in full swing in
school.
All of our athletics are in fullswing.
Matt, how is your calendarlooking this time of year?
SPEAKER_01 (00:39):
You know, I don't even know how I make it out one
day because of all the eventswith our kids.
We have soccer, we havegymnastics, baseball, our work
schedule on top of it.
So sometimes you don't even knowlike when to take a pause to
breathe, you know, it's so busy.
But how about yours?
Your calendar is pretty busytoo.
SPEAKER_02 (00:58):
Well, I only have one child at home now, Matt.
So I've got one grown child andone in college.
But my daughter who's stillhome, we are full-time dance.
So she is busy with dance aboutsix days a week.
She's rocking in that way.
I know when we were uh youngerfamily, we used to kind of look
forward to a rain day sometimesso we could just have a Saturday
(01:21):
off, right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
Sometimes the best.
You just sit at home, donothing, get a reset.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
I love that.
A nice, uh, nice, cozy Sunday isnice in the fall.
So listen, today, Matt, we areexcited to have Dr.
Fallon Graham on the program.
And she is an incredible person,but she's going to spend a lot
of time talking about theChesapeake Public Schools
calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (01:44):
Right.
This is probably, I would say,one of the hottest topics every
year because it literallyaffects everyone.
There's all these things withdeveloping a calendar that
people might not know.
So we want to shed a light onthat to our community.
SPEAKER_02 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm excited to talk to Fallon because a lot of
folks don't really understandthe state requirements that are
behind the calendar and what weneed for high school and what's
required for elementary.
And Fallon does a lot of work upto this point to get us ready to
present that calendar to theschool board and to our
community.
And so I'm excited to talk toher about all the homework that
goes into putting a calendartogether and preparing it for
(02:22):
the community and the board tomake a decision about what we're
going to do for the years tocome.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
So, listeners, we hope you take some uh valuable
information away from thispodcast episode as we take a
deeper dive into our calendar.
SPEAKER_02 (02:36):
Well, welcome back to Amplified, everybody.
We are super excited today tohave with us Dr.
Fallon Graham.
Dr.
Graham is the director ofplanning, policy, and research
for Chesapeake Public Schools.
Dr.
Graham, welcome to Amplified.
SPEAKER_00 (02:50):
Thank you so much.
I'm so glad to be here.
I've been listening to Amplifiedfor years, so now is my chance
to be on it.
Fantastic.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
We're thrilled to have you.
A true amplifier.
SPEAKER_02 (03:00):
She's a big fan.
From the start.
I love it.
I love it.
Dr.
Graham, that is a really bigtitle for your job.
Why don't you break that downfor our listeners about the work
that you do for ChesapeakeSchools?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Okay.
So I do feel like I have aposition where not a lot of
people know what I do, but I doa lot of different things.
So planning, the start there.
I help facilitate the strategicplan.
I bring together groups ofpeople and we conduct focus
groups to learn what ourcommunity values.
And then we have drafted Empower2030, which we recently
(03:33):
launched, which has been great.
So now we're on theimplementation phase of that.
And we we assist with that andbring together steering
committees and action teams todo that work.
For the policy piece, I helpwith writing school board policy
or amending it or eveninterpreting it.
A lot of what I the work I do isinterpreting or helping people
(03:55):
understand what it means.
Um, when it comes to theresearch, we conduct program
evaluations.
So this is one that probablymost people will know about.
We have adjusted our elementaryplanning schedule.
So this year, my team is gonnago in and do some research and
see how that is going, how it'sbeing implemented.
(04:15):
We wanna see what the results ofthat change will be.
So we go ahead and do thatresearch and we present findings
on that.
So we like to show okay, or orwe offer results or
recommendations on that.
And then another piece that'snot part of the title is I
handle records.
So student records, FOIArequest, the Freedom of
(04:37):
Information Act.
And so I may have some peoplewho I've worked with on that and
educational records, all of thatwe assist with managing that and
answering to that as well.
SPEAKER_02 (04:48):
Fantastic.
And Dr.
Graham, how rewarding is it thatthe work that you're doing is
really impacting the classroom?
It sounds like a lot of thethings that you do go right back
to our kids.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Yeah, that's the best part.
That's why we love the researchthat we do so much because we
get in the classroom, we get totalk with the kids and the
teachers, and we like to see howit's actually affecting them.
A lot of times something will goout, like a program, but it's
great to see a program start,but we get to go in and study
how it is going for the entireyear and see what the impacts
(05:19):
are.
So we really enjoy that piece ofour work.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
Right.
And and one of the biggestpieces of your work every year
is the school calendar.
And it's definitely a hot topic,I would say.
That is correct.
It is one of our top-reachedpages.
Uh, I think it's number three,but number one's the homepage,
number two is our documents, andthen right there is our calendar
of events.
(05:42):
Again, that is affectingeveryone in our Chesapeake
Public Schools community.
You just presented at the schoolboard meeting on the proposed uh
calendars.
SPEAKER_02 (05:50):
Hot off the presses, Matt.
Hot off the presses.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
Brought her in from the podium from the school
board, and here she is righthere in the studio the next day.
So we hope to share with thecommunity some information.
Yeah, what you presented alittle bit, but maybe some extra
details there that people mightnot know.
So, or what are some guidingprinciples that help shape the
calendar?
SPEAKER_00 (06:13):
Well, yeah, the calendar really, really has a
huge impact on many people'sday-to-day lives.
It's our community, it's ourparents, our children,
businesses, our employees.
There's just so such a strongimpact with what the calendar
has.
So we don't take the worklightly.
It's very important.
We understand that this changeseveryone's day.
(06:37):
And people map out their traveland their holidays and really
important events around thiscalendar.
So we really try to make sure wealways keep that in the
forefront of our mind, that thework we do is going to impact a
lot of people.
That's probably our number oneguiding principle, even though
we may not have that listed as abullet.
But another big piece is thatthe state mandates how much time
(07:01):
we have to be in school.
So we have to adhere to the lawon that.
We have to be in school 180days.
When it comes to our high schoolstudents, uh, for them to earn
credit, they have to havesomething called a certain
amount of seat time.
We have to make sure that schoolis open enough so that our high
school students can earn thatseat time so that they can get
(07:23):
their credits and graduate andmove on and be successful.
Other pieces to that, we work inour teacher workdays.
We have to work in our holidays.
So all of these, there's there'sso many landmarks throughout our
calendar that really structure,shapes, and limits the options
that we can come up with.
SPEAKER_01 (07:41):
So it's like m working with a puzzle.
SPEAKER_00 (07:43):
Certainly.
There's there are certain thingsthat are fixed, like the
holidays are gonna be on thedays that they are, and then we
have to work our 180 days andour teacher work days around
those fixed points.
SPEAKER_02 (07:55):
And Dr.
Graham, I love that yourecognize the way that the
calendar is is shaped around thefamily.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (08:02):
So I know that that you recognize that and that you
are working to make sure thatwe're meeting all those
expectations, but also honoringfamily time and honoring all
those holidays.
SPEAKER_00 (08:12):
Yes, yeah.
We have we do receive feedbackfrom our families and and it is
very important to us.
And we really try to honor asmuch of it as we can.
It is it is difficult becausethere is a lot of components
that go in behind the work inplanning that calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (08:28):
What are some common misconceptions about the
calendar and the calendar makingprocess that maybe the community
should hear?
SPEAKER_00 (08:36):
What's interesting is it's always about like that
start date, end date.
So as much as we want to startafter Labor Day, we also have a
desire in the community to notget out in the middle of June,
but even get out earlier inJune.
So it is balancing when we startand also recognizing that we
(08:59):
don't want to get out of schoollate into June as well.
And then how do you cram 180days into that start and end
point?
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
And this year is a unique year, right?
Because, or at least for theproposal aspect, because next
year's calendar has a laterLabor Day start, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (09:19):
Yes, yeah.
I I never thought within my workI'd be studying the where Labor
Day falls in the month ofSeptember, but it's something I
do now.
And for the next two years,Labor Day is late.
And it's something that we sawcoming on the horizon.
It's it's something that, well,we went back and did research
and we haven't reallyexperienced since 2014.
(09:42):
And it's cycled its way backthrough, and it is really
shaping our calendar and ourproposal that we put out there
over the next two years.
But what was exciting about ourproposal that we were able to do
last night is that we could makea two-year calendar, where in
the past we've always proposedjust one.
And I really feel like thistwo-year proposal is proactive
(10:06):
in that we know that in 27-28,we're facing the same thing.
So we can prepare now for that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Absolutely.
Now, Dr.
Graham, I know that the researchthat your team did in the
previous school year, uh, youguys did some research on that
uh pre-Labor Day, post-labor daystart with our community, right?
And that was a very hot topic uhthis time last year.
And so can you kind of walk usthrough what that looks like,
the pre-Labor Day start, thepost-Labor Day start, and what
(10:34):
that means to our schools andour families?
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
Yeah.
So over the past few years, wehave been asking, do you want to
start before Labor Day?
And resoundingly, the answer isno.
Now, in starting before LaborDay, it does have an impact for
our families because the oursurrounding school districts do
start before Labor Day.
We have plenty of families whohave children in different
(10:59):
school districts.
So when you have one childstarting before Labor Day and
another child starting afterLabor Day, it's confusing.
And then when the holiday breaksdon't line up, that gets
difficult and challenging aswell.
We also know that coming up withsummer camps and child care is a
big part of this pre-Labor Day,post-Labor Day conversation and
(11:20):
vacation planning.
A lot of people like to travelon Labor Day.
If you're local around here, youknow that you can get those uh
houses a little cheaper aroundLabor Day.
The prices start to drop.
So yeah, that's part of it.
It's something that I'veactually received phone calls
over the past few years from oneor two people who are saying,
I'm trying to book my vacation.
I want to know if we're startingbefore Labor Day.
(11:40):
And my answer always has to be,well, I can't answer that.
We have to see how the communityvotes.
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
And isn't that one of the reasons that your
department, your office isswitching to that, to your
calendar so that families havemore time to look ahead?
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
Yes, yeah.
That's having the two years outwill allow people to better plan
for any future dates.
I know when you're if you arebooking a large vacation, if you
are trying to see your familywho may live far away, we we are
a transient community here.
Then having that advanced noticemakes it a lot easier to plan
those trips and to book bettervacation prices and flight
(12:16):
prices, all of that.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So from an operational standpoint from
Chesapeake Public Schools, a lotgoes on in the summer.
We have HVAC systems that haveto be replaced.
There's contracts.
So can you share a little bitabout how that also goes into
creating the calendar with thepre and the post-Labor Day
(12:38):
comparison?
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
So if you were driving around Chesapeake this
summer, you probably saw a fewparking lots being constructed.
You could see the constructionthat's happening in our
buildings, which is a greatthing.
We are enhancing our buildings.
We want those innovative, modernlearning environments.
And the way that we do that iswe have children and employees
out of the building in order todo that.
(13:01):
I remember in August drivingpast a school and wondering,
wow, I hope they have the busramp completed in time by the
time students come back.
And they did, but they had itprobably prepared.
I know they were working onLabor Day weekend.
Yep.
That would they were finishingthe work then.
So when we say that every week,every day counts over the
(13:22):
summer, it does.
And these projects are plannedout in advance, a year in
advance.
Our contracts are set years inadvance, and those contractors
depend on every bit of time thatthey can get.
When school lets out, they havea team coming in immediately,
getting out the furniture,clearing out this, making sure
(13:43):
the parking lot is cleared.
And they are working the nextday, and they are working up
until the first day when ourchildren come back.
And that's that's not when ouremployees come back.
Our employees come back in thesecond week in August.
So they're navigating the lumpybark uh parking lot before our
kids are arriving.
So it is it is not somethingthat we're trying to inflate in
(14:07):
that we need every bit of timeand we need every bit of notice
in order to plan these largeprojects.
And that doesn't even includethe work that's done to prepare
the technology.
Our students, we have ourone-to-one Chromebooks.
Unfortunately, some of those getdropped.
You know, some of them arebroken.
Our techs need as much time overthe summer to make sure that
those tools are ready when ourchildren arrive back at school.
(14:30):
Transportation routing, peopleare moving, routes change every
single year.
Our transportation needs time tofigure out those routes.
School nutrition, the amount ofwork that's done.
And once a building is done withconstruction, that building
needs to get cleaned.
So our custodial services needto get in there and they need
their time as well.
(14:51):
So there's so much work doneover the summer.
And at the same time, we haveschools that are running summer
school and we need time to getthrough summer school and we
need to time to process theresults of summer school as
well.
So lots of work is being done.
SPEAKER_02 (15:06):
I had no idea that our school calendar touches so
many different programs anddepartments and all, you know,
nine months before we even thinkabout going home for the summer.
We're already planning all theseprojects.
And I know, like you said, we'vegot contracts with vendors and
construction companies, andwe're guaranteeing them a
certain amount of days or hoursthat they can be on the roof to
(15:28):
complete those projects.
So great for your department tobe able to reach out to to all
aspects of Chesapeake PublicSchools to make sure that
everyone's needs are met overthe summer.
It must be a huge endeavor toput together a school calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (15:43):
Now, let's look at this year.
Let's go right into this year'scalendar.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (15:47):
Bring it, Matt.
Here we go.
Let's get down to the nuts andbulls.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
This year, or sorry, not this year.
Let's look at next year'scalendar.
Next year's calendar.
Next year, we're pretty muchfixed.
Can you tell us why are we havethat fixed sort of option for
next year?
Great question.
SPEAKER_00 (16:01):
Well, it's not that we didn't explore other options.
We created uh other options thathad different start dates and
different end dates.
Having a different start datewould really severely and
negatively impact our summerwork.
So that was something that asmuch as we would love to be able
to offer that, it is just notfeasible for us to do.
(16:25):
It seems like this is advancednotice, but as I said, those
contracts are actually alreadyset.
So it's something that we reallycouldn't even explore much
further than what we did.
We had another option that hadmore of the lengthened breaks,
which we we love the the day offahead of Thanksgiving, and we
love the 10-day weekdays uh offfor winter break, but that got
(16:51):
us out at the end, and I'mtalking about like the last day
in June.
Wow.
And yes, and that is somethingagain that impacts our summer
again.
Sure.
Because now we're cutting intothe front of summer, and also at
that point, we're ready to getgoing on summer.
Our families want to be off, ourchildren want to be off.
So that was another option whereit was something that we really
(17:14):
couldn't pursue further.
It cuts into the summertime, itit it ends at a time that
families don't prefer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:20):
Right.
And plus there's thatpreparation piece from the year
that you were saying they toinform the families and and our
staff.
SPEAKER_00 (17:28):
Yeah.
If we would have done somethinglike that, this would have
impacted people's plans thatthey have.
Our calendar is consistent to anextent.
So people do count on that lastweek in June being off.
And then all of a sudden we'dsay, Surprise, we're still gonna
be in school.
And surprise, we're starting twoweeks earlier than what you
thought.
So make adjustments to thosevacations and camp plans and
(17:50):
child care plans that you had.
That wouldn't go over well.
SPEAKER_02 (17:52):
No, Dr.
Graham, I couldn't imagine as aformer elementary school
principal, I couldn't imaginebeing in school all the way
until the third or the fourthweek of June.
I know that often in elementaryschool, when that calendar turns
the page from May to June, uh,kids are squirrely.
They are squirrely in June.
They're right.
We're doing everything.
(18:13):
We all are.
We're doing everything we can tokeep those, uh, to keep everyone
engaged, highly engagingactivities in our classrooms.
A lot of times our SOL testingprogram is finished with the
state of Virginia.
And so that would be a realchallenge to go that late in the
year.
I think also our high schoolers,especially our graduating
seniors, uh, some of thoseuniversities are already having
(18:33):
orientation programs with those,with the students that are going
off to be freshmen at thecollege level.
And those are happening in thosefirst weeks of June as well.
I know that in the elementaryworld, we talk about a 180-day
school schedule, right?
In high school, I am lessfamiliar, but I think you
referenced something like seattime.
Is that what is that what that'scalled?
SPEAKER_00 (18:53):
Yes.
So tell us more about that.
This is something that also is alittle special for Chesapeake
because we have a four by fourschedule.
SPEAKER_02 (19:00):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:00):
So we have some benefits with that.
That means that our high schoolstudents get through eight
courses in a year.
Um, that allows some of our highschool students to graduate
early or to take advancedcourses that they might not have
been able to with a more of atraditional full year seven
block schedule.
But then there's a drawback toit because we are fitting eight
(19:21):
classes in where other districtsmay be fitting in only seven.
We have to really be we have toconserve our time to make sure
that we're able to distributethat same amount of time among
eight classes instead of seven.
But still, it's very importantto Chesapeake Public Schools.
It is very important to Dr.
(19:42):
Cotton.
It's his word that he signs off,that we have met the
requirements.
He does not want to rely on awaiver.
He wants to fulfill theexpectations and what's mandated
of him, and he does it.
And he and he holds that's whywe're open 180 days.
It's his word signing off thatwe have provided this much time,
(20:03):
these opportunities to our kids.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
And and every year we do have bank days, and then
we also have our elementaryteacher work days.
Correct.
With that, can you explain alittle bit about why the
elementary has a teacher workdayand what the bank days are like
and how that works?
SPEAKER_00 (20:21):
Well, our elementary is they don't have seat time
requirements.
Okay.
Okay.
So with that, there's a balancebetween 180 days or 990 hours.
And we we exceed 990 hours.
That's why we're able to have177 school days for children,
and we're allowed to give ourelementary teachers three more
(20:42):
workdays.
And boy, they need more thanthree more workdays because they
are in constant supervision oftheir children.
They are escorting the kids tolunch and going to pick them up.
So even that cuts into theirlunchtime.
So, with that said, the threedays is about the minimum that
we could do to make up for that.
(21:03):
And they are utilizing every bitof that time with their planning
that they do.
And that that's why theelementary teachers get that.
It is not something that isn'tan outstanding benefit that that
they uh get to hold above theheads of middle school and high
school teachers.
For sure.
Um now, and that's that's not todiscredit our middle school and
high school teachers.
(21:24):
They they are incrediblystrapped for planning time as
well.
But our elementary teachers,they they really need that time.
And what we used to do in thepast was we scattered through
several half days.
And that is something that ourfamilies they would just rather
have one day off than three halfdays.
Because that planning is verydifficult and it's more
(21:45):
disruptive.
So that's how we landed on thethree extra teacher workday for
our elementary community.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
So, Dr.
Graham, you take all of thisresearch, you take uh a look at
the calendar and consider thenumber of days and the number of
hours and all of our differentprograms and our summer work
that has to happen, and you putall that together and you
propose a calendar to thecommunity and to the school
board.
How do you get all that input?
(22:13):
I know that's I mean, that'sjust thinking about it is
daunting to me.
I'm sweating just thinking aboutit.
SPEAKER_01 (22:18):
I mean, and hearing all this too, as an employee, I
don't I didn't know at all.
I'm learning about piggyback onthat.
How does how do you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
We literally have a spreadsheet that goes through
every single day, 180 days plusour extra 10 teacher work days,
and we are counting the hours ofevery day.
When we have an early releaseday, we are adjusting the hours
for that day.
If we have a day off because ofuh snow or inclement weather,
(22:49):
we're adjusting the hours forthat.
And we are counting to theminute in this chart to make
sure that we're fulfilling ourrequirements.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
So Do we have a math background?
I mean, it seems like you mighthave a math background.
Maybe so.
SPEAKER_00 (23:03):
Yep, yep.
We used to teach high schoolmath, and luckily my I have a
teammate who also taught highschool math.
So I'm very fortunate for that.
And I have an outstandingadministrative assistant who is
a whiz with these sheets.
So actually, I rely on her forthat.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (23:19):
I think a big misconception, Dr.
Graham, is that this happens infive minutes and just comes
together and you're just like,boop, here's the calendar.
But that is so far from thecase.
And I'm so thrilled that you'vewalked us through all of the
hard work that you and your teamdo in the background up until
the moment that you'representing to the board.
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
And to add on to that, it's not just that my team
is in a close room working onthis.
So we poll the community.
We were at the get on the busevent passing out little magnet
calendars, but also asking ourcommunities.
We had an option up and we had abig draft over it.
So we were like, what if thiscame forward?
What do you think?
And we got their feedback.
(23:59):
And what was interesting wasthey were looking at the
calendar and saying, this is nota great calendar, but I still
don't want to start before LaborDay.
So that was the the feedbackthat we got from that, is that
they still prefer the post-LaborDay.
And one of the ones that thefeedback that stood with me was,
you know, I don't know why.
(24:21):
I just think that I likestarting after Labor Day because
I always know when the first dayof school is.
SPEAKER_02 (24:26):
I get that.
Yeah, it's simple.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
You always know it's always the day after Labor Day.
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
And so you have to balance all those negotiables
and all the non-negotiables fromthe state and from uh from all
those other, all those otherinputs.
SPEAKER_00 (24:38):
Our perspective is that we we hold on to what is
mandated of us, but then we tryto get as much feedback as we
can.
Another thing that we did thisyear, which was super valuable,
is that we took the calendarproposal after we got the
feedback from our community andtook the options and sent it to
several directors, for example,the director of transportation
(24:59):
and send it out to the directorof new construction, teaching
and learning, teaching andlearning, you know, them.
Plus, we send it out to severalof our principals.
Sure.
And said, take a look at it, useany perspective, your employee
perspective, your parentperspective, community
perspective, and just tell uswhat you think.
(25:19):
And the feedback that we got waswas incredible from them because
from New Construction, I heard,oh no, if we start before Labor
Day, this is really gonna messup the plans that we have for
this new building.
When I'm in this work and I'mdiving in, I begin to see things
a certain way.
And I need other people to tellme this is how I see it, and
then we can we can make it sothat it is understood.
SPEAKER_02 (25:42):
So that proposed calendar is published.
We did that last night at theschool board meeting.
So what are you hoping for fromour community when it comes to
taking a look at that proposedcalendar and providing feedback?
SPEAKER_00 (25:53):
I hope that if they didn't see the presentation,
that they take a look at thepresentation.
It's LinkedIn to that survey.
The presentation really explainsa lot.
I don't want anyone to feel likewe made the calendar in
isolation and we were tired andwe just felt like putting out
one option because we justthat's it.
(26:14):
That's what you get.
Because that is not, that is nothow we just do it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:18):
So far from the case, so far from the tree.
SPEAKER_00 (26:20):
If they could just look at the presentation and we
put several times the linksbecause I really want people to
take a look at the calendars ina in a nice open view.
So if you're in a computer,click on that link.
If you're a phone, zoom in onthose images, spend some time,
take a look at those calendars,and then go ahead and make your
decision.
(26:41):
But really overall, I reallyjust want people to participate.
The more people we can hearfrom, the the more valid that
survey is.
And we want you to know that weread your feedback.
When we put a short answerresponse where we allow for
typing and giving your feedback,we did that for a reason.
It's not a placeholder.
We're not ignoring it.
(27:02):
We don't put a lot of them onthere.
And that's because we reallywant to process the feedback
that you're providing us.
So we read your feedback.
It is important to us.
And we, again, we're not doingthis work because we want to do
harm.
We're doing this work because wewant to help support our
community and meet ourcommunity's needs.
SPEAKER_01 (27:20):
I want to thank you so much for coming in and
basically sharing everythingthat goes into taking a creating
account.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
And I think that we often underestimate how much
goes into putting that calendartogether.
So, all of our families, all ofour listeners, make sure that
you are looking for your inputsurvey.
You'll find it in the familyupdates and on the Chesapeake
Schools website,www.cpschools.com.
And make sure that you give yourinput so that Dr.
(27:49):
Graham and Dr.
Cotton and the school board canmake an informed decision about
where we want to go for gosh,25.
That's this year, 25, 26.
That one's already done for 26,27, and 27, 28.
That's the first time.
I should have a flying car bythe time we get to 2728, right?
SPEAKER_01 (28:07):
And I think and I think that surveys open through
October 19th.
Correct.
Is that right?
So, families, you heard it.
Uh, we look at everything, allthe feedback when making the
decision.
So thank you, Dr.
Graham, for coming in andsharing all the nuances with
creating the calendar.
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Thanks for letting me share.
Being able to share here reallyhelps me explain the work that I
do better than a three-minuteboard presentation.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
And we'll see you next time on Amplified.
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
That's right.
We hope you enjoyed the storiesbehind our story on this episode
of Amplified, the ChesapeakePublic Schools podcast.
Connect with us at cpschools.comforward slash amplified, and be
sure to subscribe or follow uswherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to Amplify, the Chesapeake Public
Schools podcast.
Your front row seat to thestories behind our story.
Hey everyone, this is MattGraham here with Jay Looter.
(00:22):
And we are in full swing.
The year has started.
SPEAKER_02 (00:25):
We are, Matt.
Listen, school is uh about amonth in now.
It is October, and all of ourkids are in full swing in
school.
All of our athletics are in fullswing.
Matt, how is your calendarlooking this time of year?
SPEAKER_01 (00:39):
You know, I don't even know how I make it out one
day because of all the eventswith our kids.
We have soccer, we havegymnastics, baseball, our work
schedule on top of it.
So sometimes you don't even knowlike when to take a pause to
breathe, you know, it's so busy.
But how about yours?
Your calendar is pretty busytoo.
SPEAKER_02 (00:58):
Well, I only have one child at home now, Matt.
So I've got one grown child andone in college.
But my daughter who's stillhome, we are full-time dance.
So she is busy with dance aboutsix days a week.
She's rocking in that way.
I know when we were uh youngerfamily, we used to kind of look
forward to a rain day sometimesso we could just have a Saturday
(01:21):
off, right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
Sometimes the best.
You just sit at home, donothing, get a reset.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
I love that.
A nice, uh, nice, cozy Sunday isnice in the fall.
So listen, today, Matt, we areexcited to have Dr.
Fallon Graham on the program.
And she is an incredible person,but she's going to spend a lot
of time talking about theChesapeake Public Schools
calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (01:44):
Right.
This is probably, I would say,one of the hottest topics every
year because it literallyaffects everyone.
There's all these things withdeveloping a calendar that
people might not know.
So we want to shed a light onthat to our community.
SPEAKER_02 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm excited to talk to Fallon because a lot of
folks don't really understandthe state requirements that are
behind the calendar and what weneed for high school and what's
required for elementary.
And Fallon does a lot of work upto this point to get us ready to
present that calendar to theschool board and to our
community.
And so I'm excited to talk toher about all the homework that
goes into putting a calendartogether and preparing it for
(02:22):
the community and the board tomake a decision about what we're
going to do for the years tocome.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
So, listeners, we hope you take some uh valuable
information away from thispodcast episode as we take a
deeper dive into our calendar.
SPEAKER_02 (02:36):
Well, welcome back to Amplified, everybody.
We are super excited today tohave with us Dr.
Fallon Graham.
Dr.
Graham is the director ofplanning, policy, and research
for Chesapeake Public Schools.
Dr.
Graham, welcome to Amplified.
SPEAKER_00 (02:50):
Thank you so much.
I'm so glad to be here.
I've been listening to Amplifiedfor years, so now is my chance
to be on it.
Fantastic.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
We're thrilled to have you.
A true amplifier.
SPEAKER_02 (03:00):
She's a big fan.
From the start.
I love it.
I love it.
Dr.
Graham, that is a really bigtitle for your job.
Why don't you break that downfor our listeners about the work
that you do for ChesapeakeSchools?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Okay.
So I do feel like I have aposition where not a lot of
people know what I do, but I doa lot of different things.
So planning, the start there.
I help facilitate the strategicplan.
I bring together groups ofpeople and we conduct focus
groups to learn what ourcommunity values.
And then we have drafted Empower2030, which we recently
(03:33):
launched, which has been great.
So now we're on theimplementation phase of that.
And we we assist with that andbring together steering
committees and action teams todo that work.
For the policy piece, I helpwith writing school board policy
or amending it or eveninterpreting it.
A lot of what I the work I do isinterpreting or helping people
(03:55):
understand what it means.
Um, when it comes to theresearch, we conduct program
evaluations.
So this is one that probablymost people will know about.
We have adjusted our elementaryplanning schedule.
So this year, my team is gonnago in and do some research and
see how that is going, how it'sbeing implemented.
(04:15):
We wanna see what the results ofthat change will be.
So we go ahead and do thatresearch and we present findings
on that.
So we like to show okay, or orwe offer results or
recommendations on that.
And then another piece that'snot part of the title is I
handle records.
So student records, FOIArequest, the Freedom of
(04:37):
Information Act.
And so I may have some peoplewho I've worked with on that and
educational records, all of thatwe assist with managing that and
answering to that as well.
SPEAKER_02 (04:48):
Fantastic.
And Dr.
Graham, how rewarding is it thatthe work that you're doing is
really impacting the classroom?
It sounds like a lot of thethings that you do go right back
to our kids.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Yeah, that's the best part.
That's why we love the researchthat we do so much because we
get in the classroom, we get totalk with the kids and the
teachers, and we like to see howit's actually affecting them.
A lot of times something will goout, like a program, but it's
great to see a program start,but we get to go in and study
how it is going for the entireyear and see what the impacts
(05:19):
are.
So we really enjoy that piece ofour work.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
Right.
And and one of the biggestpieces of your work every year
is the school calendar.
And it's definitely a hot topic,I would say.
That is correct.
It is one of our top-reachedpages.
Uh, I think it's number three,but number one's the homepage,
number two is our documents, andthen right there is our calendar
of events.
(05:42):
Again, that is affectingeveryone in our Chesapeake
Public Schools community.
You just presented at the schoolboard meeting on the proposed uh
calendars.
SPEAKER_02 (05:50):
Hot off the presses, Matt.
Hot off the presses.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
Brought her in from the podium from the school
board, and here she is righthere in the studio the next day.
So we hope to share with thecommunity some information.
Yeah, what you presented alittle bit, but maybe some extra
details there that people mightnot know.
So, or what are some guidingprinciples that help shape the
calendar?
SPEAKER_00 (06:13):
Well, yeah, the calendar really, really has a
huge impact on many people'sday-to-day lives.
It's our community, it's ourparents, our children,
businesses, our employees.
There's just so such a strongimpact with what the calendar
has.
So we don't take the worklightly.
It's very important.
We understand that this changeseveryone's day.
(06:37):
And people map out their traveland their holidays and really
important events around thiscalendar.
So we really try to make sure wealways keep that in the
forefront of our mind, that thework we do is going to impact a
lot of people.
That's probably our number oneguiding principle, even though
we may not have that listed as abullet.
But another big piece is thatthe state mandates how much time
(07:01):
we have to be in school.
So we have to adhere to the lawon that.
We have to be in school 180days.
When it comes to our high schoolstudents, uh, for them to earn
credit, they have to havesomething called a certain
amount of seat time.
We have to make sure that schoolis open enough so that our high
school students can earn thatseat time so that they can get
(07:23):
their credits and graduate andmove on and be successful.
Other pieces to that, we work inour teacher workdays.
We have to work in our holidays.
So all of these, there's there'sso many landmarks throughout our
calendar that really structure,shapes, and limits the options
that we can come up with.
SPEAKER_01 (07:41):
So it's like m working with a puzzle.
SPEAKER_00 (07:43):
Certainly.
There's there are certain thingsthat are fixed, like the
holidays are gonna be on thedays that they are, and then we
have to work our 180 days andour teacher work days around
those fixed points.
SPEAKER_02 (07:55):
And Dr.
Graham, I love that yourecognize the way that the
calendar is is shaped around thefamily.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (08:02):
So I know that that you recognize that and that you
are working to make sure thatwe're meeting all those
expectations, but also honoringfamily time and honoring all
those holidays.
SPEAKER_00 (08:12):
Yes, yeah.
We have we do receive feedbackfrom our families and and it is
very important to us.
And we really try to honor asmuch of it as we can.
It is it is difficult becausethere is a lot of components
that go in behind the work inplanning that calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (08:28):
What are some common misconceptions about the
calendar and the calendar makingprocess that maybe the community
should hear?
SPEAKER_00 (08:36):
What's interesting is it's always about like that
start date, end date.
So as much as we want to startafter Labor Day, we also have a
desire in the community to notget out in the middle of June,
but even get out earlier inJune.
So it is balancing when we startand also recognizing that we
(08:59):
don't want to get out of schoollate into June as well.
And then how do you cram 180days into that start and end
point?
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
And this year is a unique year, right?
Because, or at least for theproposal aspect, because next
year's calendar has a laterLabor Day start, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (09:19):
Yes, yeah.
I I never thought within my workI'd be studying the where Labor
Day falls in the month ofSeptember, but it's something I
do now.
And for the next two years,Labor Day is late.
And it's something that we sawcoming on the horizon.
It's it's something that, well,we went back and did research
and we haven't reallyexperienced since 2014.
(09:42):
And it's cycled its way backthrough, and it is really
shaping our calendar and ourproposal that we put out there
over the next two years.
But what was exciting about ourproposal that we were able to do
last night is that we could makea two-year calendar, where in
the past we've always proposedjust one.
And I really feel like thistwo-year proposal is proactive
(10:06):
in that we know that in 27-28,we're facing the same thing.
So we can prepare now for that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Absolutely.
Now, Dr.
Graham, I know that the researchthat your team did in the
previous school year, uh, youguys did some research on that
uh pre-Labor Day, post-labor daystart with our community, right?
And that was a very hot topic uhthis time last year.
And so can you kind of walk usthrough what that looks like,
the pre-Labor Day start, thepost-Labor Day start, and what
(10:34):
that means to our schools andour families?
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
Yeah.
So over the past few years, wehave been asking, do you want to
start before Labor Day?
And resoundingly, the answer isno.
Now, in starting before LaborDay, it does have an impact for
our families because the oursurrounding school districts do
start before Labor Day.
We have plenty of families whohave children in different
(10:59):
school districts.
So when you have one childstarting before Labor Day and
another child starting afterLabor Day, it's confusing.
And then when the holiday breaksdon't line up, that gets
difficult and challenging aswell.
We also know that coming up withsummer camps and child care is a
big part of this pre-Labor Day,post-Labor Day conversation and
(11:20):
vacation planning.
A lot of people like to travelon Labor Day.
If you're local around here, youknow that you can get those uh
houses a little cheaper aroundLabor Day.
The prices start to drop.
So yeah, that's part of it.
It's something that I'veactually received phone calls
over the past few years from oneor two people who are saying,
I'm trying to book my vacation.
I want to know if we're startingbefore Labor Day.
(11:40):
And my answer always has to be,well, I can't answer that.
We have to see how the communityvotes.
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
And isn't that one of the reasons that your
department, your office isswitching to that, to your
calendar so that families havemore time to look ahead?
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
Yes, yeah.
That's having the two years outwill allow people to better plan
for any future dates.
I know when you're if you arebooking a large vacation, if you
are trying to see your familywho may live far away, we we are
a transient community here.
Then having that advanced noticemakes it a lot easier to plan
those trips and to book bettervacation prices and flight
(12:16):
prices, all of that.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So from an operational standpoint from
Chesapeake Public Schools, a lotgoes on in the summer.
We have HVAC systems that haveto be replaced.
There's contracts.
So can you share a little bitabout how that also goes into
creating the calendar with thepre and the post-Labor Day
(12:38):
comparison?
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
So if you were driving around Chesapeake this
summer, you probably saw a fewparking lots being constructed.
You could see the constructionthat's happening in our
buildings, which is a greatthing.
We are enhancing our buildings.
We want those innovative, modernlearning environments.
And the way that we do that iswe have children and employees
out of the building in order todo that.
(13:01):
I remember in August drivingpast a school and wondering,
wow, I hope they have the busramp completed in time by the
time students come back.
And they did, but they had itprobably prepared.
I know they were working onLabor Day weekend.
Yep.
That would they were finishingthe work then.
So when we say that every week,every day counts over the
(13:22):
summer, it does.
And these projects are plannedout in advance, a year in
advance.
Our contracts are set years inadvance, and those contractors
depend on every bit of time thatthey can get.
When school lets out, they havea team coming in immediately,
getting out the furniture,clearing out this, making sure
(13:43):
the parking lot is cleared.
And they are working the nextday, and they are working up
until the first day when ourchildren come back.
And that's that's not when ouremployees come back.
Our employees come back in thesecond week in August.
So they're navigating the lumpybark uh parking lot before our
kids are arriving.
So it is it is not somethingthat we're trying to inflate in
(14:07):
that we need every bit of timeand we need every bit of notice
in order to plan these largeprojects.
And that doesn't even includethe work that's done to prepare
the technology.
Our students, we have ourone-to-one Chromebooks.
Unfortunately, some of those getdropped.
You know, some of them arebroken.
Our techs need as much time overthe summer to make sure that
those tools are ready when ourchildren arrive back at school.
(14:30):
Transportation routing, peopleare moving, routes change every
single year.
Our transportation needs time tofigure out those routes.
School nutrition, the amount ofwork that's done.
And once a building is done withconstruction, that building
needs to get cleaned.
So our custodial services needto get in there and they need
their time as well.
(14:51):
So there's so much work doneover the summer.
And at the same time, we haveschools that are running summer
school and we need time to getthrough summer school and we
need to time to process theresults of summer school as
well.
So lots of work is being done.
SPEAKER_02 (15:06):
I had no idea that our school calendar touches so
many different programs anddepartments and all, you know,
nine months before we even thinkabout going home for the summer.
We're already planning all theseprojects.
And I know, like you said, we'vegot contracts with vendors and
construction companies, andwe're guaranteeing them a
certain amount of days or hoursthat they can be on the roof to
(15:28):
complete those projects.
So great for your department tobe able to reach out to to all
aspects of Chesapeake PublicSchools to make sure that
everyone's needs are met overthe summer.
It must be a huge endeavor toput together a school calendar.
SPEAKER_01 (15:43):
Now, let's look at this year.
Let's go right into this year'scalendar.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (15:47):
Bring it, Matt.
Here we go.
Let's get down to the nuts andbulls.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
This year, or sorry, not this year.
Let's look at next year'scalendar.
Next year's calendar.
Next year, we're pretty muchfixed.
Can you tell us why are we havethat fixed sort of option for
next year?
Great question.
SPEAKER_00 (16:01):
Well, it's not that we didn't explore other options.
We created uh other options thathad different start dates and
different end dates.
Having a different start datewould really severely and
negatively impact our summerwork.
So that was something that asmuch as we would love to be able
to offer that, it is just notfeasible for us to do.
(16:25):
It seems like this is advancednotice, but as I said, those
contracts are actually alreadyset.
So it's something that we reallycouldn't even explore much
further than what we did.
We had another option that hadmore of the lengthened breaks,
which we we love the the day offahead of Thanksgiving, and we
love the 10-day weekdays uh offfor winter break, but that got
(16:51):
us out at the end, and I'mtalking about like the last day
in June.
Wow.
And yes, and that is somethingagain that impacts our summer
again.
Sure.
Because now we're cutting intothe front of summer, and also at
that point, we're ready to getgoing on summer.
Our families want to be off, ourchildren want to be off.
So that was another option whereit was something that we really
(17:14):
couldn't pursue further.
It cuts into the summertime, itit it ends at a time that
families don't prefer.
SPEAKER_01 (17:20):
Right.
And plus there's thatpreparation piece from the year
that you were saying they toinform the families and and our
staff.
SPEAKER_00 (17:28):
Yeah.
If we would have done somethinglike that, this would have
impacted people's plans thatthey have.
Our calendar is consistent to anextent.
So people do count on that lastweek in June being off.
And then all of a sudden we'dsay, Surprise, we're still gonna
be in school.
And surprise, we're starting twoweeks earlier than what you
thought.
So make adjustments to thosevacations and camp plans and
(17:50):
child care plans that you had.
That wouldn't go over well.
SPEAKER_02 (17:52):
No, Dr.
Graham, I couldn't imagine as aformer elementary school
principal, I couldn't imaginebeing in school all the way
until the third or the fourthweek of June.
I know that often in elementaryschool, when that calendar turns
the page from May to June, uh,kids are squirrely.
They are squirrely in June.
They're right.
We're doing everything.
(18:13):
We all are.
We're doing everything we can tokeep those, uh, to keep everyone
engaged, highly engagingactivities in our classrooms.
A lot of times our SOL testingprogram is finished with the
state of Virginia.
And so that would be a realchallenge to go that late in the
year.
I think also our high schoolers,especially our graduating
seniors, uh, some of thoseuniversities are already having
(18:33):
orientation programs with those,with the students that are going
off to be freshmen at thecollege level.
And those are happening in thosefirst weeks of June as well.
I know that in the elementaryworld, we talk about a 180-day
school schedule, right?
In high school, I am lessfamiliar, but I think you
referenced something like seattime.
Is that what is that what that'scalled?
SPEAKER_00 (18:53):
Yes.
So tell us more about that.
This is something that also is alittle special for Chesapeake
because we have a four by fourschedule.
SPEAKER_02 (19:00):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:00):
So we have some benefits with that.
That means that our high schoolstudents get through eight
courses in a year.
Um, that allows some of our highschool students to graduate
early or to take advancedcourses that they might not have
been able to with a more of atraditional full year seven
block schedule.
But then there's a drawback toit because we are fitting eight
(19:21):
classes in where other districtsmay be fitting in only seven.
We have to really be we have toconserve our time to make sure
that we're able to distributethat same amount of time among
eight classes instead of seven.
But still, it's very importantto Chesapeake Public Schools.
It is very important to Dr.
(19:42):
Cotton.
It's his word that he signs off,that we have met the
requirements.
He does not want to rely on awaiver.
He wants to fulfill theexpectations and what's mandated
of him, and he does it.
And he and he holds that's whywe're open 180 days.
It's his word signing off thatwe have provided this much time,
(20:03):
these opportunities to our kids.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
And and every year we do have bank days, and then
we also have our elementaryteacher work days.
Correct.
With that, can you explain alittle bit about why the
elementary has a teacher workdayand what the bank days are like
and how that works?
SPEAKER_00 (20:21):
Well, our elementary is they don't have seat time
requirements.
Okay.
Okay.
So with that, there's a balancebetween 180 days or 990 hours.
And we we exceed 990 hours.
That's why we're able to have177 school days for children,
and we're allowed to give ourelementary teachers three more
(20:42):
workdays.
And boy, they need more thanthree more workdays because they
are in constant supervision oftheir children.
They are escorting the kids tolunch and going to pick them up.
So even that cuts into theirlunchtime.
So, with that said, the threedays is about the minimum that
we could do to make up for that.
(21:03):
And they are utilizing every bitof that time with their planning
that they do.
And that that's why theelementary teachers get that.
It is not something that isn'tan outstanding benefit that that
they uh get to hold above theheads of middle school and high
school teachers.
For sure.
Um now, and that's that's not todiscredit our middle school and
high school teachers.
(21:24):
They they are incrediblystrapped for planning time as
well.
But our elementary teachers,they they really need that time.
And what we used to do in thepast was we scattered through
several half days.
And that is something that ourfamilies they would just rather
have one day off than three halfdays.
Because that planning is verydifficult and it's more
(21:45):
disruptive.
So that's how we landed on thethree extra teacher workday for
our elementary community.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
So, Dr.
Graham, you take all of thisresearch, you take uh a look at
the calendar and consider thenumber of days and the number of
hours and all of our differentprograms and our summer work
that has to happen, and you putall that together and you
propose a calendar to thecommunity and to the school
board.
How do you get all that input?
(22:13):
I know that's I mean, that'sjust thinking about it is
daunting to me.
I'm sweating just thinking aboutit.
SPEAKER_01 (22:18):
I mean, and hearing all this too, as an employee, I
don't I didn't know at all.
I'm learning about piggyback onthat.
How does how do you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
We literally have a spreadsheet that goes through
every single day, 180 days plusour extra 10 teacher work days,
and we are counting the hours ofevery day.
When we have an early releaseday, we are adjusting the hours
for that day.
If we have a day off because ofuh snow or inclement weather,
(22:49):
we're adjusting the hours forthat.
And we are counting to theminute in this chart to make
sure that we're fulfilling ourrequirements.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
So Do we have a math background?
I mean, it seems like you mighthave a math background.
Maybe so.
SPEAKER_00 (23:03):
Yep, yep.
We used to teach high schoolmath, and luckily my I have a
teammate who also taught highschool math.
So I'm very fortunate for that.
And I have an outstandingadministrative assistant who is
a whiz with these sheets.
So actually, I rely on her forthat.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (23:19):
I think a big misconception, Dr.
Graham, is that this happens infive minutes and just comes
together and you're just like,boop, here's the calendar.
But that is so far from thecase.
And I'm so thrilled that you'vewalked us through all of the
hard work that you and your teamdo in the background up until
the moment that you'representing to the board.
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
And to add on to that, it's not just that my team
is in a close room working onthis.
So we poll the community.
We were at the get on the busevent passing out little magnet
calendars, but also asking ourcommunities.
We had an option up and we had abig draft over it.
So we were like, what if thiscame forward?
What do you think?
And we got their feedback.
(23:59):
And what was interesting wasthey were looking at the
calendar and saying, this is nota great calendar, but I still
don't want to start before LaborDay.
So that was the the feedbackthat we got from that, is that
they still prefer the post-LaborDay.
And one of the ones that thefeedback that stood with me was,
you know, I don't know why.
(24:21):
I just think that I likestarting after Labor Day because
I always know when the first dayof school is.
SPEAKER_02 (24:26):
I get that.
Yeah, it's simple.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
You always know it's always the day after Labor Day.
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
And so you have to balance all those negotiables
and all the non-negotiables fromthe state and from uh from all
those other, all those otherinputs.
SPEAKER_00 (24:38):
Our perspective is that we we hold on to what is
mandated of us, but then we tryto get as much feedback as we
can.
Another thing that we did thisyear, which was super valuable,
is that we took the calendarproposal after we got the
feedback from our community andtook the options and sent it to
several directors, for example,the director of transportation
(24:59):
and send it out to the directorof new construction, teaching
and learning, teaching andlearning, you know, them.
Plus, we send it out to severalof our principals.
Sure.
And said, take a look at it, useany perspective, your employee
perspective, your parentperspective, community
perspective, and just tell uswhat you think.
(25:19):
And the feedback that we got waswas incredible from them because
from New Construction, I heard,oh no, if we start before Labor
Day, this is really gonna messup the plans that we have for
this new building.
When I'm in this work and I'mdiving in, I begin to see things
a certain way.
And I need other people to tellme this is how I see it, and
then we can we can make it sothat it is understood.
SPEAKER_02 (25:42):
So that proposed calendar is published.
We did that last night at theschool board meeting.
So what are you hoping for fromour community when it comes to
taking a look at that proposedcalendar and providing feedback?
SPEAKER_00 (25:53):
I hope that if they didn't see the presentation,
that they take a look at thepresentation.
It's LinkedIn to that survey.
The presentation really explainsa lot.
I don't want anyone to feel likewe made the calendar in
isolation and we were tired andwe just felt like putting out
one option because we justthat's it.
(26:14):
That's what you get.
Because that is not, that is nothow we just do it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:18):
So far from the case, so far from the tree.
SPEAKER_00 (26:20):
If they could just look at the presentation and we
put several times the linksbecause I really want people to
take a look at the calendars ina in a nice open view.
So if you're in a computer,click on that link.
If you're a phone, zoom in onthose images, spend some time,
take a look at those calendars,and then go ahead and make your
decision.
(26:41):
But really overall, I reallyjust want people to participate.
The more people we can hearfrom, the the more valid that
survey is.
And we want you to know that weread your feedback.
When we put a short answerresponse where we allow for
typing and giving your feedback,we did that for a reason.
It's not a placeholder.
We're not ignoring it.
(27:02):
We don't put a lot of them onthere.
And that's because we reallywant to process the feedback
that you're providing us.
So we read your feedback.
It is important to us.
And we, again, we're not doingthis work because we want to do
harm.
We're doing this work because wewant to help support our
community and meet ourcommunity's needs.
SPEAKER_01 (27:20):
I want to thank you so much for coming in and
basically sharing everythingthat goes into taking a creating
account.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
And I think that we often underestimate how much
goes into putting that calendartogether.
So, all of our families, all ofour listeners, make sure that
you are looking for your inputsurvey.
You'll find it in the familyupdates and on the Chesapeake
Schools website,www.cpschools.com.
And make sure that you give yourinput so that Dr.
(27:49):
Graham and Dr.
Cotton and the school board canmake an informed decision about
where we want to go for gosh,25.
That's this year, 25, 26.
That one's already done for 26,27, and 27, 28.
That's the first time.
I should have a flying car bythe time we get to 2728, right?
SPEAKER_01 (28:07):
And I think and I think that surveys open through
October 19th.
Correct.
Is that right?
So, families, you heard it.
Uh, we look at everything, allthe feedback when making the
decision.
So thank you, Dr.
Graham, for coming in andsharing all the nuances with
creating the calendar.
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Thanks for letting me share.
Being able to share here reallyhelps me explain the work that I
do better than a three-minuteboard presentation.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
And we'll see you next time on Amplified.
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
That's right.
We hope you enjoyed the storiesbehind our story on this episode
of Amplified, the ChesapeakePublic Schools podcast.
Connect with us at cpschools.comforward slash amplified, and be
sure to subscribe or follow uswherever you get your podcasts.
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