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Calendar committee presents 2026–27 draft; committee cites broad survey participation and recommends changes
Summary
The district’s calendar committee proposed a draft 2026–27 traditional calendar after collecting more than 1,300 Qualtrics survey responses, recommending elimination of Wednesday professional-learning half days, a full Thanksgiving week break and other adjustments intended to improve attendance and reduce midweek disruptions.
Doctor Stewart, representing the calendar committee, presented a draft 2026–27 traditional calendar to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board and summarized the committee’s process and survey results.
The committee held four hybrid meetings with more than 40 participants at each meeting and used Qualtrics to collect more than 1,300 responses; the presenter said about 76% of respondents identified as parents. The committee said it sought input from families who historically participate less and worked with school social workers to broaden outreach.
Committee members framed calendar work within state law constraints discussed in the presentation: school must begin the first Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end the Friday closest to June 11; the district is an hours district with an instructional-hours requirement mentioned in the presentation; the committee said required teacher work days and annual leave days are part of the statutory framework the calendar must satisfy.
Key draft changes the committee proposed: keep students out for the full week of Thanksgiving (the committee cited improved attendance in 2024, with only a 2–3% dip in attendance the day before Thanksgiving, compared with 20+ percent in prior years), move professional-learning (PL) days away from Wednesdays and instead stagger PL days on Mondays and Fridays or combine two half-day PLs (one in fall and one in spring), and shift a December PL day into January so staff are back in buildings before students return.
Board members asked about quarter lengths (committee noted quarter 3 is shorter and will examine options tied to testing prep requirements, which the presenter said typically require about eight days), the effect of half days on elementary families and whether religious observances had been consulted. Stewart said the committee had previously coordinated with religious leaders and would double-check dates such as Rosh Hashanah for upcoming years.
Stewart said the committee will take board feedback, adjust the draft, and likely place the calendar on the consent agenda for approval in late March or early April. No formal calendar vote took place at the meeting.
