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Board reviews draft 2025–26 school calendar; members press for more staff input
Summary
District staff presented a draft 2025–26 Racine Unified School District calendar that keeps an August start and adds K–5 professional learning days tied to Act 20; board members raised concerns about timing of spring break, parent-teacher conferences and the volume of professional learning days.
Miss Hanson, a district staff member, presented the Racine Unified School District’s draft 2025–26 school calendar and reviewed start dates, professional learning days and scheduled breaks.
The draft calendar keeps an August start with three “new educator” onboarding days beginning Tuesday, Aug. 12, continuing through Aug. 14; returning teachers are scheduled for Aug. 27–28 with open house on Aug. 28 and the first day of school on Sept. 3. Hanson said the draft adds three professional learning days for kindergarten through grade 5 “to support our Act 20 requirements,” while retaining four districtwide professional learning days for K–12. She also listed Thanksgiving recess (Nov. 26–28), winter recess (Dec. 20–Jan. 4) and a last instructional day of June 11, with June 12 as a records day.
The calendar drew multiple questions from board members about the timing and design of professional days and parent-teacher conferences. Board member Matthew Coe asked whether staff surveys had been collected this year on spring break timing; Hanson replied the referenced attendance analysis was from prior years and that this year’s spring break placement was based on earlier feedback. Board member (and classroom teacher) James Koey pressed for fewer professional learning days and more dedicated time for teachers to set up classrooms before open house, saying, “No teacher is gonna support this. No teacher in this district is okay with that calendar. Guaranteed.”
Superintendent Gajewski and other board members described the draft as a product of committee and teacher input and said staff would consider additional surveys and calendar adjustments next year. Hanson noted that the calendar “falls within the instructional minutes that are required” by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Board discussion also flagged the scheduling around the end of third quarter and spring break: one board member said the gap between the end of third quarter (March 27) and the start of fourth quarter, followed shortly by spring recess and then parent-teacher conferences, could leave families waiting to speak with teachers about report-card concerns. Hanson and other board members said the topics would be considered in future calendar review work.
No formal vote or approval of the calendar was recorded in the transcript of this session. Board members directed staff to continue reviewing the calendar and to incorporate additional staff and community feedback as they prepare next year’s final proposal for the board’s business meeting.
Why this matters: The calendar determines start/end dates, required instructional minutes, and the timing of parent-teacher interactions and professional learning that affect staffing, family planning and compliance with state requirements.
