At a Jan. 18 board of trustees meeting, RISD Chief of Staff Mike Jasso presented two calendar options developed by a committee of district officials and community leaders for consideration. Now, the district is seeking public feedback on the two options ahead of the board’s February meeting.
“We understand the importance of adopting the very best calendar that we can,” Jasso said at the meeting. “In this business, we talk about what we teach, which is the curriculum; how we teach, which is the instruction; and of course when we go to school is of huge importance.”
The details
Both calendar options presented have the first day of the year set for Aug. 12 with the first semester ending on Dec. 19. Both also have the second semester beginning on Jan. 6 and wrapping up on May 22.
The main difference between the two proposed calendars is the inclusion of a staff professional development day/student holiday on Oct. 10 in calendar Option A. Since both calendars include a student/staff holiday on Oct. 13 for Fair Day, Option A would have a four-day weekend at that time, whereas Option B would only have a three-day weekend.
The other difference between the two calendar options is when potential bad-weather makeup dates—which are required by the state—would take place. In Option A, makeup days would take place on April 3 and May 1, if needed. In Option B, those days would fall on April 3 and April 6.
Get involved
RISD officials have created an online form to solicit feedback from staff, parents and community stakeholders where they can select which option they prefer, along with the ability to offer comments or ask questions about the 2025-26 academic calendar options.
Feedback will be presented to the RISD board of trustees at its next meeting Feb. 18.
