Trustees approved the new calendar during their March 8 meeting. It will include 79 instructional days during the first semester and 95 during the second. Classes will begin Aug. 17, 2021 and end on Friday, May 27, 2022.
Winter break will run from Dec. 20-31, followed by a staff work day Jan. 3. Students will return Jan. 4. RISD’s 2022 spring break will be from March 14-18, with students returning to classes the following Monday. Plano ISD scheduled its spring break for March 7-14.
In putting together the calendar, district staff considered the 75,600 instructional minutes required by the state as well as input from district stakeholders. A committee made up of district personnel and representatives from each of RISD's four learning communities gave feedback on calendar drafts presented to the board in February and the final calendar presented March 8.
Deputy Superintendent Tabitha Branum said during a Feb. 1 that that there is no “perfect calendar.”
"But we do feel like this is a calendar that really represents the instructional needs of our students, which we have to keep first and foremost,” Branum said. “[It also] ensures our staff has the professional development that is embedded throughout the year that’s going to help them feel supported and ready to be their best instructional selves each and every day.”
The district scheduled a school holiday for Nov. 1 and a staff development day for Election Day on Nov. 2. Staff development work days Oct. 8, Jan. 3 and Feb. 21 will double as student holidays.
The district listed April 15 and 18—both of which are scheduled holidays for students and teachers—as inclement weather days in case they are needed for instruction.
