The details
According to a district news release, all campuses will begin five minutes earlier and dismiss five minutes later than the 2024-25 school year. The new schedule allows GCISD to designate two instructional planning days within a teacher’s 187-day contract when students will be out of school, while also keeping the school year beginning on a Wednesday and still ending before Memorial Day.
The news release states these days will occur at the end of grading periods for staff to plan and design the following:
- Student learning with teams
- Data analysis
- Hold professional learning communities
- Address any additional classroom needs
- Elementary school: 7:35 a.m.-3:05 p.m.
- Middle school: 8:05 a.m.-3:35 p.m.
- High school: 8:35 a.m.-4:05 p.m.
The news release states adjustments will be made at the high school level to nine-periods. This new schedule will include eight 45-minute periods of classes with one period designated for lunch. The new schedule allows an increase to teacher lunch time to 45 minutes while simultaneously maintaining the opportunity for students to earn eight credits each school year.
The total length of the school day in the new schedule is similar to surrounding districts, according to the news release. It also increases the high schools’ ability to strategically schedule courses that require travel to the opposite high school, while minimizing lost instructional time.
According to the Texas Education Agency, the state requires all school districts to have at least 75,600 minutes of instruction each year.
Changes to the 2025-26 academic calendar are based upon feedback from the following stakeholders:
- District leadership teams
- Campus principals
- Various departments
- District Excellence Committee
- Education Advisory Committee
