School board adopts 2025-26 academic calendar with pre-Labor Day start, fuller planning days

The Suffolk City School Board voted Jan. 16 to adopt the 2025-26 academic calendar recommended by the division's calendar committee. The calendar keeps the pre-Labor Day start, builds in three full clerical planning days, two full professional learning days, three full parent-teacher conference days and a full 10-day winter break.

Chief Academic Officer Dr. Akima Branch told the board the calendar committee comprised 37 members (administrators, teachers, parents and department representatives) and that the group voted overwhelmingly for the option presented. Dr. Branch said the committee prioritized teacher planning time, consistent instructional minutes across grade bands and expanded fall break (Monday'Friday) to give staff and families a longer pause in the fall.

Board members asked several follow-up questions before the vote: whether unused snow days could be placed on the back end of the year, whether the day after winter break could be a teacher work day, and whether the district could offer teachers the option to work remotely on clerical days. Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon said placing commonly expected instructional days at the end of the year could reduce instructional seat-time needed for SOLs and that any change requires careful calculation of required seat hours (e.g., 140 seat hours for many high-school courses). He asked the board not to make an immediate change to the proposal and asked members to raise potential changes with division leadership for future committee consideration.

After discussion, a motion to adopt option 1 passed on a recorded vote.