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Board holds public hearing on two-year school calendar; staff to correct a date and produce master calendar for parents
Summary
The board heard a public presentation and discussion of proposed two-year school calendars (2025-26 and 2026-27). Staff said professional development days were front-loaded and faculty-senate days will be two-hour delays; a date error for Aug. 17, 2026 was identified and staff will correct it.
Berkeley County Schools presented a two-year draft school calendar for 2025-26 and 2026-27 during a public hearing on Jan. 7. Staff described a nontraditional schedule that front-loads professional development and preserves five accrued snow days (with the option for remote days), full-week Thanksgiving and two-week winter breaks, and faculty-senate days scheduled as two-hour delays.
Presenter Tana Burkhart (calendar lead) told the board the 2025-26 teacher start date is Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, and for 2026-27 the teacher start date shifts to Aug. 12. The presentation explained that four additional two-hour "teacher prep" delay days were placed across the year (Sept. 1, Nov. 12, Jan. 20 and Feb. 25) to allow teachers to analyze student diagnostics and adjust instruction.
Board members and staff discussed a calendar-display limitation that omits a clear label showing faculty-senate days as two-hour delays. Burkhart said staff will add those dates manually to the corner key used for parent-facing materials and will produce a master calendar that clearly labels delays and faculty-senate meetings.
A clerical error was identified in the 2026-27 calendar: an entry listed "1st student instruction" on Aug. 17, 2026, while staff confirmed the correct first student day is Aug. 20, 2026; staff agreed to correct the item for the posted calendar. Burkhart also listed the calendar committee members and roles (principals, central-office staff, teachers, a parent representative and a service-personnel contact).
Why it matters: The district said front-loading professional development will let teachers implement new instructional strategies earlier in the year and use diagnostic checkpoints to guide instruction. The calendar also aims to provide consistent breaks and to maintain state-required days and holidays.
Next steps
- The district will correct the Aug. 17, 2026 entry to Aug. 20, 2026 on the posted calendar. - Staff will create a master parent calendar that clearly annotates two-hour faculty-senate delay days and teacher-prep delay days. - A follow-up hearing on the calendar is scheduled for the board's Jan. 21 meeting; the demographic/enrollment presentation that had been planned for Jan. 7 was rescheduled to be presented in person on Jan. 21.
Ending
No members of the public signed up to speak for the calendar hearing. Staff said the committee included representatives from every programmatic level and will consider suggested adjustments if needed before final adoption.
