The Tahoma School Board is seeking comments from parents and community members regarding a proposal to start school 90 minutes later every Monday to accommodate professional staff development activities.

The Monday late-start schedule would replace the current setup, which designates three waiver days and nine early release days for staff development time.

The proposal, brought to the board March 27 by school principals and administrators, would add a total of three more hours for staff development over the school year. Principals favor having a regular staff development schedule, even if it doesn’t offer significantly more time, because it permits more regular and frequent training and collaborative sessions than the current arrangement.

The use of professional staff development time is seen as essential by principals, administrators and the school board. The demands of implementing the district’s 21st Century learning model, Classroom 10, newly adopted national Common Core Standards and the new teacher evaluation system require time for teachers and support staff to work together to implement changes. Details about the proposed Monday late starts are available on these links: Professional Development Proposal; Late-start Monday PowerPoint.

Comments can be sent to Kevin Patterson, public information officer, via e-mail: kpatters@tahomasd.us.

Comments will be forwarded to the school board.