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Superintendent previews 2025-26 calendars, proposes vote Feb. 3 after public feedback
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Streich presented draft calendars for the next school year, outlined a shift allowing school to start before Labor Day under the contract, recommended removing Good Friday as a district holiday and described staff concerns about low post-break attendance that could justify moving days into winter break.
Superintendent Dr. Dunkin Streich presented draft district and school-level calendars at the Jan. 21 Salem School Committee meeting and said the administration will ask the committee for a final vote at its Feb. 3 meeting after a period of public review.
Streich said the contract language with the teachers' union sets the earliest start of the employee work year as the Monday prior to Labor Day while allowing the first student day to be the last Thursday in August; the draft calendar under discussion sets the first day of school for students on Aug. 28, 2025. "The first day that students could start with three professional days for teachers is the last Thursday of August, which is the 28th August," Streich said.
Streich also said Good Friday is no longer proposed as a district-wide day off following contract negotiations, and that staff and families may request religious observance days when needed. To pilot student-led conferences next spring, the draft calendar includes two consecutive work days in March (one full day and one half day); Streich said staff recommended moving those days to Monday and Tuesday of the same week if the committee is concerned families will use Friday for a long weekend.
Streich told the committee about an attendance incentive in the contract: if the district achieves 95 percent staff attendance, the district will convert a professional day to a staff vacation day; if that occurs the day removed from the calendar would be Nov. 4. He also cited district attendance data showing marked drops in the days after winter break and said some staff want the district to move the dates following winter break into the winter recess period. "We did have very bad attendance this year on the two days we returned from break," Streich said, and the administration will return to the committee with specific attendance figures for committee review.
Committee members raised logistics questions about athletics travel during vacation week, concerns about election-day polling in school buildings, and the feasibility of moving professional/parent conference days to reduce long-weekend absenteeism. Streich said the draft calendars and staff feedback will be posted and that he will bring the calendars back for a formal committee vote on Feb. 3.
