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Committee advances school calendar proposal — suggests Sept. 1 start, front-loaded professional development
Summary
The Career, Common Instruction and Technology committee reviewed a draft 2026 school calendar on Sept. 9 that would start student classes on Sept. 1, maintain required teacher and student-day counts, and repeat front-loaded professional development that staff said received positive teacher feedback.
The Career, Common Instruction and Technology committee of the Marple Newtown School Board reviewed a proposed school calendar for 2026 that would begin the student year on Tuesday, Sept. 1, retain required teacher and student day totals and repeat a front-loaded professional-development schedule staff said worked well this year.
The presenter (Curriculum/Instruction staff) said the proposed calendar meets key criteria: 193 teacher days, 182 student days and 181 senior days while preserving winter and spring breaks and critical professional development. "This would be our professional development for our induction teachers," the presenter said when describing early-August sessions.
Staff described the approach as a repeat of this year's arrangement, which consolidated multiple professional development days at the start of the year. The presenter and Teaching and Learning staff said they surveyed teachers after this year's front-loaded model and received positive feedback: teachers appreciated having time to prepare classrooms before concentrated curriculum-focused professional development. One Teaching and Learning staff member said, "They felt like their rooms were prepared and ready, and then they were prepared for their professional development."
The proposal addresses a calendar challenge in 2026 caused by a late Labor Day (Sept. 7 in 2026). The recommendation is to begin school Sept. 1, have three student days followed by the Sept. 4 holiday and Labor Day on Sept. 7, and then resume Sept. 8 so students and staff can "hit the ground running," according to the presenter. Under the draft calendar students would end the school year June 11 (half day) and teachers would end June 15.
The committee discussed logistics and stakeholder communication. A board member recommended posting the presentation on the district website and inviting questions prior to formal board approval; staff said they would post it and that formal adoption would occur via vote at a future meeting.
No formal committee vote to adopt the calendar was recorded in the transcript; staff asked the board if it wanted the draft posted for family review if the board does not vote it immediately.
