B OA R D AC T I O N : O N E C H A RT E R C A M P U S W I L L C LO S E , A N OT H E R TO O P E N
BY CRAIG SHULTZ
Put away the skis and hustle back from grandma’s because winter break for Hemet schoolchildren will remain at two weeks for at least the next couple of years. The Hemet Unified School District board voted 5-1 Tuesday, April 9, in favor of calendars that keep the break at two weeks instead of proposals that would have stretched the time off to three weeks. Jim Smith voted against the proposal and Lisa DeForest was absent. The 2013-14 school year will begin Aug. 12 and the first semester will end Dec. 20. Classes will resume Jan. 6 and the final day of school will be May 30, 2014. The 2014-15 school year will begin Aug. 11 and end May 29. Students will continue to be off one week each for Thanksgiving, Presidents Week and spring break. The last day of the current school year will be May 31, giving students 10 weeks of summer vacation. Classes will start about a week earlier than they have in recent years as the calendar is being adjusted, primarily so that the first semester ends before the break. That will allow high school students to take their final exams before the holiday vacation. It was suggested that winter break be extended to a third week, as is the case in many neighboring districts, but trustees and many parents said that was too much time to be out of class. Trustees also voted 6-0 to close one charter high school and open another. Hemet Academy for Applied Academics and Technology will close at the end of the school year and College Prep Academy High School will open in the fall. The Hemet Academy went through a revision last spring to align its science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum with the Western Center Academy. With plans for the Western Center, currently a middle school, to add grades nine through 12, there is not a need for two high schools with the same target audience, a report prepared for the trustees states. The academy hopes to start its high school in 2014-15, possibly by adding ninth and 10th grades, with 11th and 12th grades added in subsequent years. The College Prep Academy High School will be a middle college high school collaboration between Hemet Unified, Mt. San Jacinto Col- lege, parents and businesses, the report states. The goals include making college attainable for more students, reducing repetition in curriculum and eliminating the need for remediation. “I believe this is an outstanding opportunity for us to make a positive difference for students who may not go on to college or a career and for our community,” Assistant Superintendent Sally Cawthon wrote in the report. Teachers at the Hemet Academy could apply for positions at the new school or will have another position in the district, the report states. The academy has about190 students who can continue in the new charter if they choose. Follow Craig Shultz on Twitter @PE_CraigShultz and online at blog. pe.com/hemet