William Penn SD calendar committee recommends draft 2025–26 calendar for board review

The William Penn School District education committee on Jan. 8 reviewed a proposed 2025–26 school calendar and asked that the draft be placed on the full board agenda so the district can move forward with public communication and staff negotiations.

Dr. B. Coates, who led the presentation, told the committee "it is our request that this, proposed school calendar be placed on the board agenda for this month's board meeting so that we can, move forward and communicate accordingly." The calendar committee presented three options and reported that the vote of committee members selected Calendar B as the preferred draft.

The calendar as presented lists 172 student days, 189 teacher days, 13 teacher and service days and four parent conference days. Committee members said the draft includes one Jewish holiday (the first day of Rosh Hashanah) but does not designate Yom Kippur as a district holiday; staff who observe Yom Kippur would need to use accrued leave unless contractual changes are negotiated. Miss Hoff raised that concern and asked whether employees who observe religious holidays would be required to take vacation, personal or sick leave; Dr. B. Coates replied that leave would have to be used and that the district had modified holidays compared with the current year. Dr. B. Coates also said she would share the comment with Mr. Deans, who is involved in negotiations.

Presenters and committee members noted instructional-time calculations and buffer hours for inclement weather. John Freak explained the instructional-time estimate and said some schedules—particularly middle and high school—are "a little tight" for buffer time if the district experiences severe weather. The draft calendar includes a small number of buffer hours; staff said that if required make-up time exceeds the buffer, the district would add days at the end of the year.

Committee members discussed trade-offs the committee made while drafting calendars, including removing two holidays from the prior year’s schedule to preserve instructional time. No formal vote by the Education Committee to adopt the calendar was recorded during the session; the presenters requested placement of Calendar B on the board agenda for formal consideration.

The calendar committee includes district staff, parents and a student representative; presenters said the committee solicited ranked preferences (first, second and third choices) when selecting the draft.

The committee requested that the draft be scheduled for the full board meeting this month and that staff bring any negotiated changes related to leave and instructional minutes for board consideration.