Whitehall Superintendent Check-In

Whitehall School District has some exciting innovations and changes for the 2023-2024 school year. Here are the highlights:

Four-Day School Week - As you undoubtedly know, Whitehall School District will be moving to a 4-day school week. The school day will begin at 8 AM and end at 3:54 PM. The first day of school will be August 21, 2023, and the last day of school will be June 6, 2024. With the adjusted length of the school day, bus routes are anticipated to run 15 minutes earlier in the morning and 30 minutes later in the afternoon.

Friday Program - The district will offer an optional K-8 Friday program through the 21st Century Learning grant beginning the week of Labor Day. That program will run 8 AM - 12 PM with breakfast and lunch available for students. No busing will be available on Friday for this optional program. Official signups for the K-8 Friday program will occur the first two weeks of the school year in August.

Accredited, Virtual Learning Opportunities - Recent legislative changes have opened up new flexibilities in learning approaches and paths for students. As a result, both the elementary and 6-12 will be offering accredited virtual learning opportunities. Students can attend all or partial days on campus or all or partial days via a virtual learning platform. Before pursuing this option, it is essential to consider whether virtual learning is right for your student and family. Students who attend school virtually will need significant support from parents or guardians to provide an ideal learning environment, monitor daily progress, and help teach the content the child may struggle with. This option may be good for current homeschool students who want a district-provided virtual curriculum and the opportunity to participate in district coursework or activities (feel free to share the survey with these families if they are not already connected to the school). If your family is interested in exploring virtual learning options, please fill out the survey at this link: https://forms.gle/q2VqNWJzSC7HnjvR6 This will help us to anticipate needs for the fall.

Dual Credit Offerings - High school junior or senior students who are academically eligible and interested in enrolling in dual credit courses may take advantage of Montana University System’s one-two - free credit offering. Eligible students may take up to 6 credits of coursework through MUS colleges and universities for free. Information for MT Tech Highland College and Helena College dual credit coursework is provided on the Class of 2024 and Class of 2025 students’ Google Classroom. We encourage parents/guardians to encourage their students to take advantage of this opportunity. Interested students should enroll now for the fall.

HS Alternative Intervention Program - The high school has also received a funding commitment from the Department of Justice to provide a digital Alternative School intervention for 9-12 students. This intervention program is for students who are extremely credit deficient, in danger of dropping out, struggling in school for discipline reasons, or want to pursue the HiSet (formerly known as GED). Students will be admitted to this program in keeping with mutually agreed-upon criteria established by the high school and the DOJ.

I hope everyone has a great summer!