ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996            TAG: 9601170033
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE  

MONTGOMERY MAKES JAN. 29 A WORKDAY FOR TEACHERS

Montgomery County School teachers will get their planning day before the new semester begins, the School Board decided Tuesday night.

The board voted to make Jan. 29 a professional workday for teachers. The new semester will begin Jan. 30.

The original workday, scheduled for Jan. 22, was changed to a school day so students could begin to make up the five snow days.

Of course, this plan could change if any more school days are missed between now and the beginning of next semester.

More missed days will be a problem for Christiansburg and Shawsville high schools, Superintendent Herman Bartlett said. Those schools are on a block schedule where four classes are taken each semester.

"Missing five days is like missing 10 for them because their classes are twice as long," he explained.

Virginia requires schools to make up only 10 of the first 15 days missed. The sixth through the tenth days missed can be waived, according to state code.

But if the snow starts to fall again, Bartlett warned the board, it may want to consider making up missed days for the sake of block-scheduled students.

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