The Spring ISD board of trustees unanimously approved its 2019-20 instructional calendar, which favors longer weekends and shorter breaks throughout the year, at its Feb. 12 regular board meeting.

The board considered two instructional calendar options for the 2019-20 school year and selected Option B, which created more long weekends throughout the year, rather than fewer, long breaks as featured in Option A.

“The proposed calendar will offer short breaks, mostly long weekends throughout the school year to give students and teachers a chance to recharge without impacting instruction or participation in TEA or athletic activities,” Superintendent Rodney Watson said during the meeting. “The recommended calendar will help set Spring ISD apart as a district willing to try new things to support teachers and boost student achievement.”

Prior to the Feb. 12 vote, the board received feedback on the proposed instructional calendars from more than 6,000 individuals via an online survey. The board previously discussed the options during its workshop meeting Feb. 7 at which Option B was recommended.

“This recommendation follows a lot of discussion with staff and teachers as well as students,” Watson said. “We weighed all of their input that we gathered from our calendar survey in January, and we believe tonight’s recommendation balances the needs of our students [and] teachers, but most importantly, also our families.”

The following dates are a few highlights from the approved SISD 2019-20 instructional calendar, according to a Feb. 8 news release. Students at Spring Early College Academy may have different breaks and holidays throughout the year as their calendar will align with that of Lone Star College-North Harris.

First day of school: Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019

Professional development day: Friday, Sept. 20, 2019

Professional development day: Monday, Sept. 23, 2019

Professional development day: Monday, Nov. 4, 2019

Winter holiday: Friday, Dec. 20, 2019-Monday, Jan. 6, 2020
(Classes resume Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020)

Professional development day: Friday, Feb. 14, 2020

Spring break: Friday, March 6-Sunday, March 15, 2020
(Classes resume Monday, March 16, 2020)

Last day of school: Tuesday, June 2, 2020

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