Hello families,
The school board approved an adjustment to the 2023-24 school calendar in order to accommodate the installation of geothermal dehumidification systems at Jefferson and Washington-Kosciusko Elementary.
For students at Jefferson, Washington-Kosciusko and Goodview, the last student day of the 2023-24 school year is now Thursday, May 30. This includes Community KIDS Preschool classes. The last day for Grades 5-12 at Winona Middle School, Winona Senior High School and Winona Area Learning Center will remain Thursday, June 6.
An updated calendar is available here.
Key Kids Summer Care will be available to WAPS families only the week of June 3-7, and it will be held at Goodview. The middle school will not be able to host Key Kids Summer Care until the week of June 10.
We have been assured by the Minnesota Department of Education that we will still meet the state requirements for student contact days and instructional hours in Grades K-4 with these calendar changes. This will remain true no matter how many emergency closing days are needed this winter due to winter weather.
The 2024-25 school year will be affected as well, with an expected first day of Monday, Sept. 9. The WAPS Calendar Committee is currently drafting some options for the 2024-25 calendar, and the WAPS community will get a chance to offer their suggestions.
It is not unusual for schools to slightly adjust the calendar to accommodate construction projects, and we anticipated some disruption. Our goal will be to communicate these changes to you as early as possible so you can plan accordingly.
The first phase of the geothermal construction projects was completed on time, and we anticipate the same for the second phase with the proposed calendar adjustments. Once installed and operational, these systems will improve the air quality and learning environment for our district’s youngest learners.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Brad Berzinski
Superintendent
Winona Area Public Schools