What to know
Hedith Sauceda-Upshaw, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, described the process used by the District Level Planning and Decision-Making Committee, which is developing drafts of the calendar, at an Oct. 22 board of trustees meeting.
As a District of Innovation, the district has the flexibility for the first day of school to occur before Aug. 25, 2026, and there is a minimum of 75,600 instructional minutes in the school year, Sauceda-Upshaw said.
“Our calendar greatly affects all family schedules [and] it affects the county as a whole. If Conroe ISD is not in session, neither are most daycares,” Sauceda-Upshaw said.
Digging deeper
The committee has found that the calendars work as a recruitment tool for school districts, especially with the flexibility for work days for the teachers to meet the required 187 days, Sauceda-Upshaw said.
In the first draft of the calendar, the committee has put together the following dates:
- Election Day: Nov. 3, 2026
- Spring holiday: March 26, 2027
- Memorial Day: May 31, 2027
The following timeline is how the committee, along with the board, will decide on the calendar:
- Nov. 3-11: Initial community survey
- Nov. 12: Present initial survey results and draft calendars to the DLPDMC
- Nov. 18: Calendar process update is presented to the board to solicit feedback and direction for next steps
- Dec. 8-17: Additional community survey if needed
- Jan. 14: DLPDMC considers public feedback and selects a calendar to recommend to the board for approval
- Jan. 20: Recommended calendar is presented to the board for its consideration
The board also on Oct. 22 approved the Conroe Virtual School’s mascot of an owl with the colors being navy, blue and white following nominations from staff, students and families, according to the agenda packet.
Additionally, former interim Superintendent Ted Landry was named CISD’s deputy superintendent, and the board approved the position in a 7-0 vote.
