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Bristol‑Warren committee approves 2025–26 calendar after amendments; members spar over holiday closures
Summary
After extended discussion and several amendments, the school committee approved the district’s 2025–26 school calendar with a compromise change that restored one Thanksgiving‑week day as an instructional day while leaving winter break dates largely intact.
The Bristol‑Warren Regional School Committee approved a 2025–26 academic calendar Monday after extended debate and multiple amendments that split the committee on which pre‑holiday days to keep as student attendance days.
Superintendent Riley presented the recommended calendar, which she said was filed after the Rhode Island Department of Education released the state calendar; the district’s proposal kept traditional holidays and located staff professional development at the start of the year and in embedded monthly two‑hour PD blocks. Riley explained the recommended start date of Sept. 2 (Tuesday after Labor Day) and an intended last day in mid‑June, and said the district had planned for up to three state‑approved virtual emergency days.
Committee discussion focused on several specific dates: the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the days in late December just before the winter break. Some committee members urged restoring the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas because family childcare burdens rise when those weekdays are school holidays. Others said historical absenteeism data show very low student attendance on those pre‑holiday days, and that keeping them as holidays reduces wasted school resources and staff disruptions.
Initial amendments to restore multiple pre‑holiday days failed. The committee again amended the calendar to change just one day: it restored the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) as an instructional day while retaining the district’s other winter break days. That compromise amendment passed by voice and roll‑call votes; the committee then approved the resulting amended calendar.
The superintendent said the district will submit required emergency‑day language to RIDE and that the locally scheduled professional learning configuration (two five‑hour sessions at the start of the year plus embedded monthly hours) will be evaluated by staff after implementation. Vice‑chair and several committee members asked administrators to assess childcare impacts and to survey families and staff about the calendar after the year ends.
Ending: With the calendar adopted, the committee moved on to other business, including finance items and routine approvals.
