3 to 5 more PD days coming to school year

The 2014-15 school year on P.E.I. will include three to five more professional development days without adding to the length of the school year.

The coming year has just five, which has been the norm for years. The increased number of PD days comes following a review of education systems around the world.

"Professional learning days when they are properly planned for, scheduled into the schedule itself, and there's a collaborative approach taken, actually really leads to better learning for the student," said Education Minister Alan MacIsaac.

"It helps both the teacher and the student in the learning phase."

MacIsaac said the structure of the school calendar hasn't changed in more than 30 years.

The coming changes delayed the release of the 2013-14 school calendar, which was just published on Friday. The province was attempting to negotiate adding PD days at the end of August, but the P.E.I. Teachers' Federation said that was not allowed under the current contract.