School’s out early for summer

MANAWA – The Manawa School Board voted Jan. 27 to increase the length of a school day in order to shorten the 2025 to 2026 school year.
Ryan Peterson, the district administrator, set aside time for teachers to approach him and talk about things they would like to see with the 2025 to 2026 school calendar and found many teachers and parents in the community preferred getting out before the month of June.
“I’ve been here 18 months or so and there’s been a good amount of interest from the vast majority of the people I’ve talked to relating to our academic calendar about ‘can you please get it so that we don’t go to school in June?’” said Peterson. “I just laughed and I said ‘well there’s creative ways we can do that,’ but we have to make sure that those are in alignment with the priorities of the district so that we’re still giving kids a great education.”
At the board meeting Peterson said adding the extra ten minutes will allow for four days to be taken off the school year.
With the approval of lengthening the school day the start date is Sept. 2 and the release date would be May 29, 2026 for the following school year.

Whether or not the extra ten minutes will be at the start or end or the day, or split five minutes at the start and five at the end of the day was discussed with it looking like it will be added on to the end of the day.
The concern at the school board meeting was the morning may become too rushed, with teachers coming in and students filing in, going to their lockers and getting to their class in a shortened length of time.
Scott Emmert, a school board director, said adding the ten minutes to the end of the day will be less disruptive to the morning routines.
“This is better to have ten at the end, you’re only changing one bus and that’s at the end of the day,” said Emmert. “All of us with young kids, five minutes makes a huge difference in getting them up and getting them off [to] the bus.”
The calendar dates for next year include the extra snow days necessary, unless the 2025 to 2026 winter is filled with lots of snow or extremely low temperatures, students and teachers should be out before June.
Peterson said he hopes that lengthening the day will also help with work schedules of parents.
“Our hope is that it allows for a little bit of a longer school day regarding some child care and things like that,” said Peterson. “Then, just on the horizon, we’re also exploring the opportunity to bring in some afterschool care here in Manawa as well.”
Peterson said he hopes adding the extra care will help families and be able to give them a place where their kids will be well taken care of while they work.