Two weeks of school lost due to construction projects will be made up by extending the school calendar one week, to June 14 for elementary, middle and junior high schools and June 15 for Ivanna Eudora Kean High School on St. Thomas and the Educational Complex Vocational School on St. Croix.
For schools that started even later—Peace Corps Elementary School and Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas and Central High School on St. Croix—the school year will likely extend until the last week of June, according to Education Department spokeswoman June Archibald.
Lockhart School, whose start was delayed further due to construction, has decided to extend its school day for the year and will therefore close on June 14, too. Archibald said that option or any other proposal also were available to other schools that started extra late.
Christmas, Easter and Carnival holidays remain unchanged for the year, but Presidents Day, normally a February holiday, will be a school day in 2001.
The 18 days lost to the teachers strike will not be made up. However, Education Commissioner Ruby Simmonds is working on a plan that would offer students and teachers the opportunity to make up lost class time during the summer.
"The Department of Education is proposing to offer students six weeks of classes for remediation as well as for enrichment," Simmonds said in a release from her office.
There will be no charge for students who wish to attend, she said. But there will not be any bus service available.
Archibald said the summer enrichment program would also help teachers who had lost wages during the strike make some extra money during the summer.
The enrichment program is optional, she said.
Simmonds is still hammering out the details, such as which schools would house the programs and how many hours a day they would run.
Archibald said the classes would probably run about four hours, and that lunch may be provided.
The plan was worked out by the School Calendar Task Force made up of Simmonds and representatives of the American Federation of Teachers, the Education Administration Association and the Office of Collective Bargaining. It has been approved by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull.
The proposal for summer sessions was "met favorably by members of the USVI Congress of Parents Teachers and Students Association," according to the release. The group is an umbrella organization representing several PTAs.
The dates for the summer session as well as the reopening of the 2001-2002 school year will be announced "subsequently," the release said.