Downingtown Area SD to survey families, students and staff about spring-break timing and school start date
October 09, 2025 | Downingtown Area SD, School Districts, Pennsylvania
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Superintendent Dr. O'Donnell told the Downingtown Area School District board on Oct. 8 that district staff will distribute a short survey to families, secondary students and employees to gather feedback on whether to adopt an annual spring break and whether the school year should start earlier.
The survey is intended to guide calendar planning, O'Donnell said, but will not change state-mandated requirements or contractual obligations. “It'll literally take 2 minutes to do this survey,” he said, describing a plan to send one distinct response link per household email and to collect separate responses from students and employees.
Board members and public commenters urged broad outreach and clarity about timing. A board member suggested sending the survey after parent-teacher conferences and using multiple reminders; another asked whether the district could require a minimum response rate rather than a fixed cutoff date for closing the survey. O'Donnell said staff expected a short turnaround and suggested two weeks as a likely window, but he did not set a final deadline.
The superintendent described constraints that shape calendar options, including state requirements, collective-bargaining agreements and religious holidays. He said the district will not remove religious holidays from its standard list of calendar observances and will provide guidance to teachers so students observing sundown-based holidays are not penalized for evening observances.
Public commenters also weighed in. Bruce Harlan asked the board to “give thoughtful consideration to maintaining these important days in our calendar,” referring to Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Other residents encouraged wide notice so families who do not follow board communications can participate.
No formal motion or vote occurred during the meeting; the board directed staff to finalize the survey instrument, pursue multiple communication methods (email, text, principal newsletters), and report results to the board as part of the calendar development timeline. O'Donnell said the district will share survey results and incorporate feedback within the limits of state requirements and contracts.
Next steps: staff will finalize the survey, launch distribution to district email addresses and students, run reminders, compile results into a dashboard for the board, and return with findings as the district builds its calendar for the coming year.
The survey is intended to guide calendar planning, O'Donnell said, but will not change state-mandated requirements or contractual obligations. “It'll literally take 2 minutes to do this survey,” he said, describing a plan to send one distinct response link per household email and to collect separate responses from students and employees.
Board members and public commenters urged broad outreach and clarity about timing. A board member suggested sending the survey after parent-teacher conferences and using multiple reminders; another asked whether the district could require a minimum response rate rather than a fixed cutoff date for closing the survey. O'Donnell said staff expected a short turnaround and suggested two weeks as a likely window, but he did not set a final deadline.
The superintendent described constraints that shape calendar options, including state requirements, collective-bargaining agreements and religious holidays. He said the district will not remove religious holidays from its standard list of calendar observances and will provide guidance to teachers so students observing sundown-based holidays are not penalized for evening observances.
Public commenters also weighed in. Bruce Harlan asked the board to “give thoughtful consideration to maintaining these important days in our calendar,” referring to Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Other residents encouraged wide notice so families who do not follow board communications can participate.
No formal motion or vote occurred during the meeting; the board directed staff to finalize the survey instrument, pursue multiple communication methods (email, text, principal newsletters), and report results to the board as part of the calendar development timeline. O'Donnell said the district will share survey results and incorporate feedback within the limits of state requirements and contracts.
Next steps: staff will finalize the survey, launch distribution to district email addresses and students, run reminders, compile results into a dashboard for the board, and return with findings as the district builds its calendar for the coming year.
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