BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Parents and neighbors in Broken Arrow have been sharing their ideas about the possibility of a hybrid school schedule.
The proposed schedule would have kids in the classroom four days a week, with one ‘flex day’ per week that could be used differently depending on the student.
If approved, the schedule would take effect for the 2025-2026 school year.
Broken Arrow Public Schools held an in-depth board meeting Monday night.
The Broken Arrow superintendent made sure to debunk any false claims about the possible hybrid schedule and why the district is considering making the switch in the first place.
“This is nothing new that we have discussed as a district and we’ve had discussions with the board in the past couple years about a hybrid or four-day week because of the teacher shortage and looking at some districts around us that...are doing this currently,” said Chuck Perry, Broken Arrow Public Schools Superintendent. “You cannot get a teacher out of those districts.”
At the BAPS board meeting, Superintendent Perry addressed some of the questions and concerns parents had.
“If we go to a hybrid calendar and we have Fridays off, Mondays off, please note we will go the same amount of time that we’re currently going in the academic calendar,” said Perry. “There is this perception out there that we’re shortening our academic time; we are not.”
During the meeting, the Elementary, Secondary, and Special Education Committees spoke on their findings.
So far, after looking into other districts in Oklahoma that already have hybrid schedules, two surveys have been sent out to the community.
The results show some parents are for the hybrid schedule because a hybrid calendar could improve mental health, give students more time with family, help with teacher recruitment and retention, and provide unique enrichment and intervention opportunities on the ‘off day.’
Other parents think it’s a bad idea because a hybrid calendar can create childcare challenges when school is not in session, it can lead to less nutrition for students who depend on school meals, it can negatively impact instruction and could limit student participation in extracurricular activities.
“I want to emphasize that we have not made a decision on this,” said Perry. “I have been asked that a lot of you already reached a conclusion, we have not. We are really going through a process that we feel like needs to be transparent to our community, to our teachers, to our parents, and let them see kind of a new way to do school.”
The superintendent said they will be sending out blueprints this week of what the possible hybrid schedule could look like.
A final decision will be made during the February or March School Board meeting.