The approved calendar, which begins Aug. 11 and ends May 26, includes 79,000 total instructional minutes broken up into 440 instructional minutes per day. The calendar also includes two built-in inclement weather makeup days that can be used as needed throughout the school year, district officials said.
Option B—which 60% of the more than 4,100 survey respondents selected as their preferred calendar option—begins and ends earlier than proposed Option A, which would have run Aug. 16-June 2.
"I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate in our calendar survey," SISD Superintendent Rodney Watson said in a statement. "Among our community members, campus staff, parents and students, Option B was the preferred choice, and our board definitely took that into account in making their final decision."
Lupita Hinojosa, chief officer of school leadership and student support services for SISD, said the 2021-22 calendar differs from past calendars as it includes built-in half days to allow for teacher preparation time and parent-teacher conferences. Additionally, Hinojosa said all grade levels will switch to nine-week grading periods in the 2021-22 school year.
Dates of note included in the 2021-22 instructional calendar are as follows:
- Aug. 4-9: Teacher professional development days
- Aug. 10: Teacher preparation day
- Aug. 11: First day of school for grades pre-k-12
- Sept. 6: Labor Day (no classes)
- Sept. 17: Half day of instruction in the morning; parent-teacher conferences in the afternoon
- Oct. 8: Half day of instruction in the morning; teacher preparation in the afternoon
- Oct. 11: Fall break
- Nov. 2: Election Day (no classes)
- Nov. 22-26: Thanksgiving holiday
- Dec. 17: Half day of instruction in the morning; teacher preparation in the afternoon
- Dec. 20-Jan. 3, 2022: Winter holiday
- Jan. 3: Teacher preparation day
- Jan. 4: First day of second semester for pre-K thru 12th grades
- Jan. 17: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no classes)
- Feb. 11: Half day of instruction in the morning; parent-teacher conferences in the afternoon
- Feb. 21: Presidents Day (no classes)
- March 11: Half day of instruction in the morning; teacher preparation in the afternoon
- March 14-18: Spring break
- April 5-8: STAAR Testing
- April 15: Spring holiday
- May 2-13: STAAR Testing
- May 26: Last day of school—half day of instruction in the morning; teacher preparation in the afternoon
- May 27: Teacher preparation day
