The WACO School District is adjusting the school calendar for the fall.

The district decided in May to retool the “Plus One” activity days into a seven-day J-Term for the junior and high school that will take place at the beginning of the second semester, and for the elementary school the activities will be dispersed throughout regular school days, leaving Fridays to serve solely as professional development days for staff. Superintendent Jeff Dicks mentions some new aspects, “We actually solicited input throughout that whole process when we made the change. So then we even made some tweaks, so the school day is going to end a little sooner than last year, like 15 minutes. But then we’re going to go a few more days when we add the J-Term in.”

Dicks says they received input from staff, school board, and the community. The school day will now begin at 8 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m. for the district. Dicks says the district is still exceeding the required number of hours for the school year. The WACO school year begins on August 23 and ends on May 23.