Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operations Calendar topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board reviews two calendar drafts for 2025-26, begins planning 2026-27 two-year approach
Summary
The board considered two draft 2025-26 calendars (start Aug. 25 or Aug. 21) and discussed initiating a two-year calendar planning process for 2026-27; staff will post drafts, seek stakeholder input and return recommendations at the February/March work sessions.
York County School Division staff presented two draft academic calendars for 2025-26 and introduced planning steps for a two-year 2026-27 calendar at the Jan. 13 School Board meeting.
Draft 1 and Draft 2: Draft 1 would start the school year Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 (four days before Labor Day) and end Wednesday, June 10, 2026, producing a 180-day calendar. Draft 2 would start Thursday, Aug. 21 (six days before Labor Day) and end Friday, June 5, 2026, producing a 179-day calendar (which would be calculated by instructional hours rather than days). Staff said Draft 2 provides two additional instructional days before AP/IB exams and ends on a Friday to avoid abbreviated final weeks.
Regional alignment: Staff reported that several regional divisions (Hampton, Gloucester, WJCC, Newport News) are at various stages of adopting calendars; some have already approved Aug. 25 starts. New Horizons and Governor—s School scheduling considerations were noted; New Horizons aligns based on the three largest divisions in the region.
Two-year planning: The board discussed moving to a two-year calendar planning approach so families and community organizations can plan ahead; staff will begin stakeholder surveying for 2026-27 and suggested completing the 2025-26 calendar approval first, then launching a public survey about the 2026-27 options.
Public feedback and next steps: The board generally signaled support for Draft 1 (Aug. 25 start) for 2025-26 but asked staff to post draft calendars, conduct outreach and return with survey results and a final recommendation for the regular January business meeting and upcoming work sessions.
What—s next: Staff will post both drafts (blue and green versions), run a stakeholder survey after the board approves the 2025-26 calendar for the consent agenda, and aim to bring calendar feedback to the February work session and a 26-27 recommendation to the March work session.
