This Thanksgiving week marks a first for students and many employees in the Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts -- a full week away from their schools and classrooms.
Both districts are joining the North Little Rock School District -- which started the practice a year earlier -- in extending what was a three-day break for students into five days.
"I think it is one of the most popular things we've done with the calendar in recent times," Gregg Thompson, senior director of human resources for the North Little Rock School District, said about the time off.
School-based employees also have opportunities for extra days off, but the specific arrangements vary among districts.
In the Little Rock district, all five days are holidays for school-based teachers and other staff members, Little Rock School District spokesman Pamela Smith said.
But 12-month employees -- including central office administrators in the state's largest district -- were scheduled to work the first three days of this week and have Thanksgiving Day and Friday off as holidays.
Smith said the change -- adopted by the Little Rock School Board when it approved the 2014-15 school year calendar last winter -- has generated little reaction. There's been one comment in opposition and a couple of others that were supportive of it as a way to ease family travel plans, she said.
In the North Little Rock district, Monday and Tuesday this week were "flex days," which compensate teachers who took district-approved, professional training courses on their own time, such as in the summer, when they were not on contract, Thompson said.
The Pulaski County Special district calendar lists the first three days of this week as staff development days. And on Monday, district Deputy Superintendent Laura Bednar said there were several dozen teachers in the district's administration building for training programs.
However, the Pulaski Special Special district also grants the flex time, Bednar said, allowing teachers to take the days off this week to compensate for the district-approved training they took previously on their own time.
Many of the approximately 85 teachers at the training sessions earlier this week were teachers who were hired by the Pulaski County Special district in late summer and didn't have the opportunity to participate in a variety of earlier sessions, said Janice Warren, the Pulaski County Special interim assistant superintendent for equity and pupil service.
State law requires teachers to take at least 60 hours of professional development a year to maintain their state-issued teacher licenses.
Deborah Roush, executive director of communications for the Pulaski County Special district, said the parents' response to the newly extended holiday break has been favorable on the district's social media accounts.
"I haven't fielded any negative comments," Roush said.
"Oh, they love it," Warren added about district families.
Thompson in North Little Rock said the district's calendar committee annually seeks input from parents, staff members and students about the formation of the calendar for each school year.
"The calendar committee looked at this a couple of years ago," he said about the extended Thanksgiving break, noting that other districts elsewhere in Arkansas were already giving students and some staff a week-long break. "We figured out how to do it, and it's been very popular the last two years."
The district's website includes a feature in which viewers can ask questions of Thompson and make suggestions about the calendar for the coming school year.
The week-long student break for Thanksgiving doesn't reduce the number of school days for students in any of the three Pulaski County public school systems.
"Students still go to school 178 days," Thompson said. "Our teachers are contracted for 192 days. We meet all the state requirements regarding parent conference days, professional development days and teacher work days. We meet all the state requirements and still have a week off at Thanksgiving."
The winter vacation -- including Christmas Day and New Year's Day -- begins Dec. 22 for all three Pulaski County school districts.
The North Little Rock students will return to classes Jan. 6. The last day of class for students this school year is set for May 29, barring the need for any weather makeup days.
The Pulaski County Special district students will return to classes Jan. 5 after the winter break. The last day of classes for the year will be May 29, if no makeup days are necessary.
The Little Rock district students will return to classes Jan. 6 after the winter break. The last day of school, barring weather makeup days, is June 4.
Metro on 11/27/2014