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Harlem U.D. 122 administration previews proposed 2025–26 school calendar, seeks final approval at next meeting
Summary
District administration presented a proposed 2025–26 academic calendar that would shift some professional development days, align spring break with Rockford and set August 19 as the first student day and May 27 as the last day (weather permitting); the board will be asked to approve the calendar at a subsequent meeting.
District administration presented a proposed calendar for the 2025–26 school year and told the board it will bring the calendar for formal approval at the next meeting.
Why it matters: The calendar sets instructional start and end dates, professional development and school-improvement days, and spring and winter breaks that affect families, staff scheduling and seasonal programming.
Michelle Longoza, who presented the item, said the district sought staff feedback on the draft calendar and received the typical response volume — about 93 staff responses out of approximately 1,200 employees. The proposal includes three front-loaded institute/professional-development days before students arrive (Aug. 14, 15 and 18 in the proposed draft), additional institute days Feb. 13 and Feb. 28, school-improvement days Oct. 10, Jan. 5, March 20 and April 24, winter break Dec. 22–Jan. 2, and spring break March 30–April 6 (the proposal aligns Harlem’s spring break with Rockford’s this year).
Under the draft, the first day of student attendance would be Aug. 19, 2025, and the last day would be May 27, 2026, weather permitting. Longoza said one change resulted after staff feedback and that the administration pushed parent-teacher conferences slightly later to give teachers more preparation time.
Board members asked clarifying questions about collective bargaining provisions and the Monday after Easter (which, Longoza said, remains a support-staff travel day per the collective bargaining agreement). Longoza said she will return at the next board meeting with the calendar for board approval.
