Montezuma-Cortez asks for community input on four-day weeks

Students head into the Cortez Middle School for the first day of school. The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School District reported gains in the performance of its struggling students, but it fell far short of the state average in every grade level for performance in all subjects.

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Students head into the Cortez Middle School for the first day of school. The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School District reported gains in the performance of its struggling students, but it fell far short of the state average in every grade level for performance in all subjects.

The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 issued a survey Friday calling for parent feedback on transitioning to four-day school weeks.

The survey can be accessed at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PM8J8RY.

The district is proposing to implement the shift beginning January, and it would join the Mancos and Dolores school districts in shortening its school weeks.

Montezuma-Cortez is facing critical staff shortages, and the shorter weeks would offer some relief to teachers, Superintendent Risha VanderWey has previously discussed. For example, the district reported 62 teachers absent from the classroom on Oct. 5. More than 20 were without substitutes.

Currently, the last day of school is slated for May 18. With the new proposed calendar, it would be May 26.

Winter and spring breaks would remain the same, although there would be no additional break April 25, and school would remain open for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day.

The suggested calendar plans for 160 student contact days. The current calendar totals 168 secondary school days and 166 elementary student days.

The survey asks parents to select whether they prefer the current calendar or revised calendar, and features a comment box for additional feedback.