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Darien board hears strong parent pushback on proposed Monday late starts, weighs alternatives
Summary
Parents and civic groups told the Darien Board of Education that a proposed 2025–26 calendar with multiple Monday delayed-start professional development days would place an unfair burden on families, prompting the board to promise more outreach and further study before a likely June vote.
Public commenters, parent groups and a representative of the town's Representative Town Meeting said the Darien Board of Education's proposed 2025–26 calendar — which would include multiple delayed-start Mondays for elementary professional learning community (PLC) time — creates significant hardship for families and youngest learners.
Crystal Hill, chair of the Coordinated District Support Partnership (CDSP), told the board that parents "fully support that teachers need additional professional learning" for new literacy curriculum, but that "10 delayed arrival days on Mondays ... is a significant disruption and logistical challenge for many households." She suggested full professional development days aligned with existing holidays, supervised enrichment on PLC days, or moving late-start days to Fridays to ease childcare issues.
A member of Darien's Representative Town Meeting (RTM), Sheila Quinn, relayed a unanimous RTM education committee view that the Monday morning option is "not viable" for the reasons parents described and urged that teachers be included in calendar decisions. A student, Alina Shazad, spoke separately at public comment to request that the district recognize the two major Islamic holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as official school holidays on future calendars.
Administrators said they are working to balance teacher professional learning needs — including implementation time for a new elementary literacy curriculum — with family logistics. Superintendent Alan (Superintendent) told the board the administration has proposed a second calendar option that shifts some PLC time and that a vote is likely to occur at the board's June meeting. "We're probably not going to vote until our next meeting in June," he told the audience.
Board members asked for more specifics about whether existing professional development days can be repurposed, whether a mix of early-dismissal elementary days and high-school PLCs could reduce family burden, and how different models would affect bus scheduling and teacher contracts. Finance staff outlined funding tradeoffs and how calendar choices intersect with budget planning; administrators noted state requirements for 180 student days constrain how much the year can be shifted.
Several board members requested additional detail and options before a final vote: the board asked administration to produce a clearer comparison of alternatives including Friday late starts, a smaller number of elementary early-dismissal days, or other combinations that limit Monday impacts. Board members also asked staff to quantify how much existing PD time could be reallocated and to provide parent and teacher-focused communications over the summer.
No calendar vote was taken at the May meeting. The board indicated it would continue public outreach and deliberate the final calendar at its June meeting.
