Staff considered several factors when putting together the calendars, Senior Executive Director for Communications Lesley Range-Stanton told the board. Those factors included community preferences, the 75,600 instructional minutes required by the state, balanced semesters, testing calendars, alignment with Collin College dual credit courses, placement and duration of breaks, student activities and graduation.
"We want to be student-focused when we're thinking about the calendar," Range-Stanton said.
Calendar Draft A has 84 instructional days in the first semester and 91 instructional days in the second semester, while Draft B features 86 instructional days in the first semester and 89 instructional days in the second semester. Draft A would have the school year begin Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, and end on Friday, May 26, 2023. Draft B would see the school year begin on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, and conclude on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
The only other significant difference in the calendars is spring break would last five days on Draft A and six days on Draft B, Range-Stanton said.
"All of the student-teacher holidays lined up pretty similarly, except for in March," she said. "In [Draft] B, we're extending that time off through [March] 13, instead of [March] 10 for spring break."
District staff have already reviewed the draft calendars with the Student Advisory Council, district executives, leadership from district parent-teacher associations and campus leadership. Range-Stanton said the district's faculty council is slated to give feedback on the drafts later this week.
Students expressed a desire for four-day weekends to last Fridays through Mondays rather than Saturdays through Tuesdays, Range-Stanton said. However, board Vice President Nancy Humphrey noted having Mondays and Tuesdays off would allow students more opportunities to visit colleges, as Fridays are not usually as active of days on college campuses.
"All of the vetting groups preferred a calendar that started on a Wednesday," Range-Stanton said. "[A preference for] inclement weather makeup days being an April was [also] expressed by all of the groups. Sometimes we have proposed them in March and [the feedback was] March is too early for an inclement weather makeup day."
Several board members expressed preference for Draft A, which would begin the school year on the second Wednesday of August.
Feedback from trustees will be incorporated into a final draft calendar, which is scheduled for adoption in November.
