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School committee to survey families after extended calendar debate over December and June days
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about the 2025–26 academic calendar and tradeoffs between days off in December and end-of-year heat in June, the committee authorized a parent survey and agreed to include staff input before taking final action.
School committee members on Wednesday debated multiple schedule options for the 2025–26 school calendar and asked the superintendent to poll parents and staff before any final change.
Superintendent Dr. Chamberlain reviewed the draft calendar and noted the district kept the overall shape similar to the current year but proposed a full school day on Dec. 22 and a half day on Dec. 23, returning Jan. 5. He explained the district aimed to avoid pushing the instructional year too far into June because of recent high-temperature days in past Junes.
Board members raised competing concerns: some said families travel for holidays and would prefer the two days before Christmas off, while others said pushing days into June creates heat-related instructional problems and conflicts with camps. One member asked whether the district could poll families and staff; Dr. Chamberlain agreed to run a short survey, including the option of keeping the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a data point.
Members discussed satellite half-day scheduling, teacher-contract limits on PD-day timing and the effect on summer camp schedules. The committee did not take a vote Wednesday and asked the superintendent to post a parent and staff survey and return with results before finalizing the calendar.
