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Canton School Committee reviews proposed 2025–26 school calendar in first read
Summary
Committee members received a first read of the proposed 2025–26 school calendar, including a Sept. 2 student start (post‑Labor Day), Wednesday early releases, and flexibility around MCAS testing windows; administration flagged one calendar typo and said final dates may shift when the state releases MCAS windows.
Administrators presented the proposed 2025–26 Canton Public Schools calendar in a first read on Jan. 23, saying the timeline preserves a post‑Labor Day student start, maintains Wednesday early-release professional development days, and leaves room to adjust dates once the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) publishes MCAS testing windows.
Superintendent Follin and calendar lead Miss Rooney said staff are proposing the student start for grades 1–12 on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with prekindergarten and kindergarten beginning on Thursday, Sept. 4. The plan keeps a half‑day for students on June 18 (with Juneteenth observed) and keeps the district’s pattern of staff professional development days, many scheduled as Wednesday early releases for students.
Rooney cautioned that one calendar entry needs correction (an April early‑release date listed twice in different places) and that the district will make adjustments once DESE releases testing windows. "We have a lot of flexibility in grades 3 through 8 within the testing window," she said, while noting the high school scheduling constraints around some high‑stakes assessments.
Administrators said the district aims to balance instructional time requirements—900 hours for elementary and 990 hours for secondary—while keeping parent‑teacher conference scheduling workable. Calendar details noted: the district proposes no school Dec. 23–Jan. 2 with school resuming Jan. 5, 2026, given vacation timing; elementary conferences may be consolidated to a single early‑release/evening day in March if staff feedback supports it; and contractual full‑day professional development days remain consistent with the collective bargaining agreement.
Committee members asked about how days count toward the 180‑day requirement and how early releases affect the district's time‑on‑learning totals. Rooney explained the district counts a day when students are present for more than half the day; town payroll and time-on-learning checks determine whether proposed early-release patterns meet state-hour requirements.
As a first read, the calendar was not put to a vote; administrators said they will correct the April entry, await MCAS windows and continue staff negotiations and community feedback before bringing a final calendar for approval.
