Board delays vote on 2025–26 calendar after questions about moving middle‑school conferences to January

District administrators presented the proposed 2025–26 school calendar and requested board approval of several items, including continuing the two solid weeks off around the winter holiday to align with Lehigh County and LCTI, and a substantive change proposing that middle‑school conferences move from the traditional November slot to January.

Officials said the proposed change would allow middle‑school conferences to align with existing high‑school early dismissals in January, and noted that a middle‑school pilot this year used a student‑led conference format on a single team. Administrators asked that the board allow a middle‑school presentation at a future business meeting (staff indicated a March presentation) to describe the student‑led conference model and its data before a calendar vote.

One board member said she was “not comfortable voting on a calendar where I don't know what I'm voting on” and expressed concern that a January conference would delay family notification of student progress by about a month compared with a November conference. Staff responded that the proposed calendar change does not prevent distribution of calendar information to families and that a formal presentation about the student‑led format could be scheduled for the March or April board meeting; staff said the calendar approval could be postponed without operational impact beyond the timing of distribution to parents.

The board agreed to postpone formal calendar approval until after the middle‑school presentation so members could review the proposed student‑led format and supporting data. When the presentation is scheduled, staff said they will provide details on the pilot team’s experience, assessment data, and adjustments proposed for full implementation.