The school system sought public input on the school calendar and provided four possible calendar options for review, including a balanced calendar, a calendar with a
mid?August start date, a calendar with a start date after Labor Day, and an option for a calendar with a four?day school week.

Copies of the proposed calendars were given to employees and posted online for public input. The district's Student Messenger system also sent a phone message to every student's household asking for input on the calendar. By far, the balanced calendar was the most popular of the four proposals among both employees and parents, with 20 out of 21 schools opting for the balanced calendar and over 60 percent of the online survey participants selecting the balanced calendar option as well.

"Stakeholder involvement plays an important role in the success of a public school system," said Dr. Steve Whatley, Superintendent for Newton County Schools. "We
encouraged and received parent, employee, and public input through various means as we worked through the process of selecting a calendar for the 2009?2010 school year."

The balanced calendar has students scheduled to report to school on Monday, August 3, 2009, and finish the year on Friday, May 28, 2010. Early dismissal/parent teacher
conference days are scheduled for August 24, 2009; September 17?18, 2009; November 20, 2009; February 4?5, 2010; and March 18, 2010.

Fall break will occur on October 12?16, 2009, and Thanksgiving Break is scheduled for November 23?27, 2009. The first semester will end on December 18, 2009 and students will not report back to school until Tuesday, January 5, 2010. The school calendar also includes a winter break on February 15?19, 2010, and a spring break on April 5?9, 2010.

The Newton County School System 2009?2010 calendar is posted on the school district homepage at www.newtoncountyschools.org. For more information, contact Sherri Viniard, Director of Public Relations for Newton County Schools, at (770)784?2908.