Schools Squeeze Curriculum Time

With schools now settled into a second term of post-hurricane activities, every effort is being made to ensure that students continue to gain as much curriculum time as possible.

Efforts include increasing the school day by a half hour by an earlier start and shaving off some days from normal vacation schedules

Schools and parents will review the benefit of a longer school day prior to the start of the summer term, on 4 April. Feedback from school principals indicates that valuable curriculum time has been gained as a result of this initiative. However, some school buses are finding it hard to make the 8:00am start and some flexibility will be exercised where needed to adjust school start time to 8:15am, with a 3:15pm finish.

Last week, schools in Grand Cayman reopened immediately following the Ash Wednesday holiday, rather than utlising the two-day midterm break usually scheduled then. Plans are also in place to gain additional days in the summer term.

The Education Department is advising parents that no new registrations will be accepted for the current academic year. New registrations will be accepted in May for the next academic year, due to begin in September.

Chief Education Officer Nyda Flatley said that although schools are in the recovery phase, they are striving to ensure that all students are receiving a high quality education. “The Ministry of Education, Education Department and School Inspectorate are all working together with the schools on planning for the future,” she said.