“I think our teachers have earned it; they deserve it; our students are asking for it,” Board President Matt Fuller said.
The calendar amendment comes more than a month ahead of the new student holiday to give families time to plan, MISD Superintendent Heath Morrison said.
Morrison said he believes the district is in a good position to add in the holiday for students in the ongoing year. Should the district have unforeseen school closures due to inclement weather or other circumstances, he said the district could adjust the length of the school day, for example, to make up for a prolonged closure.
“We think we’re in good shape; we did not want to bring this recommendation to the board until we had gotten through most of February, so we think we’re in a good situation to offer this option for our community,” Morrison said.
In addition, the board approved the calendar for the upcoming 2022-23 school year with some early releases and student holidays differing for elementary and secondary campuses.
Executive Director of Communications Justin Marino said the District Advisory Committee—which evaluated survey feedback from families and staff to develop draft calendar options—also recommended reinstating six late arrival days for secondary students. According to the calendar, secondary students will have a two-hour delayed start Sept. 14, Oct. 19, Nov. 9, Feb. 8, March 8 and April 12.
In addition, Marino said the committee recommended removing early release days for elementary students, totaling two additional student holidays for elementary students in the upcoming year. As a result, early release days for secondary students will include a student holiday for elementary students.
The first day of school will be Aug. 11, and the last day of school will be May 26, 2023, according to the approved calendar.
View the approved calendar here or below.
