PUSD board member Beverly Pingerelli speaks during a Peoria Unified School District board meeting Thursday, April 28, 2016 at Peoria Unified Administration Building in Glendale. Pingerelli was chosen as board president for 2017.

By Danielle Airey
Special to Independent Newsmedia

This school year brings a change in the district’s weekly schedule that supports the ongoing professional development for Peoria Unified’s 4,000 employees. Most Mondays, students will be released two hours early from their originally scheduled dismissal. This modification will replace the late start and full- day professional development days that were observed during the 2016-17 school year.

In response to feedback from parents and employees, the Governing Board approved a schedule to reflect consistency in lieu of sporadic releases or full-day observances. Within the new schedule, Peoria Unified will still observe the same traditional holiday/ break schedule the community has come to expect.

Beginning Aug. 14, elementary schools that typically dismiss at 3 p.m. will dismiss at 1 p.m. every Monday. Elementary schools that dismiss at 3:40 p.m. will dismiss at 1:40 p.m. and high schools that dismiss at 2:20 p.m. will dismiss at 12:20 p.m. on Mondays.

Exceptions include Jan. 8, 2018 and Mondays in May 2018.

To accommodate child care needs during the Modified Mondays, the district offers a KidZone program for students attending a school located in Glendale. The district also has a partnership with the city of Peoria to offer the AM/PM program to students attending Peoria schools. Learn more about both programs on the district’s website.

Throughout the year, parents can receive reminders, as well as share in the collaborative efforts of the district’s staff professional development, through the district’s social media channels using #ModifiedMonday. The complete 2017-18 calendar can be viewed on the district’s website peoriaunified.org and look for the school calendar located under the “families” tab.

For questions, contact the student’s school principal or email at pusdpr@pusd11.net.

Editor’s note: Ms. Airey is the Public Relations Director for Peoria Unified.