Both calendar options, which have been endorsed by the SISD Advisory Committee on Education and align with SISD’s District of Innovation designation, have the school year beginning Aug. 17 and ending May 28—prior to Memorial Day. Both options also offer short calendar breaks throughout the year and include two parent involvement days.
In Option 1, most teacher professional days fall on Fridays, while in Option 2 most teacher professional days are planned for Mondays. Additionally, in Option 1 no classes are held on Nov. 3—Election Day—while in Option 2, Veterans Day is observed as a districtwide holiday.
SISD officials gathered public feedback on the two calendar options through an online survey throughout early January and shared those results with the board at the Jan. 14 meeting. According to SISD Chief of Staff Julie Hill, the survey garnered 2,834 total responses from district parents, guardians and teachers with 75.16% of respondents voting for Option 1.
While board Secretary Donald Davis said as a veteran, he would have preferred an option in which Veterans Day was observed as a districtwide holiday, board Vice President Deborah Jensen asserted holidays in the middle of the week are often more challenging for parents and teachers. This year, Veterans Day falls on a Wednesday.
In a 6-0 vote with Davis abstaining, the board approved Option 1. The following are student holidays and calendar breaks included in the approved instructional calendar:
Aug. 17: first day of school
Sept. 7: Labor Day
Sept. 25: 1st calendar break
Oct. 9: 2nd calendar break
Oct. 23-26: 3rd calendar break
Nov. 2-3: 4th calendar break
Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving holiday
Dec. 21-Jan. 4: winter holiday
Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 12-15: 5th calendar break
March 12-19: spring break
April 2: spring holiday
May 28: last day of school
Students attending Spring Early College Academy may have different holidays and breaks as their calendar will align with that of Lone Star College-North Harris, where they take classes. For more information about the 2020-21 SISD instructional calendar, visit www.springisd.org.
