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Santa Fe ISD board unanimously adopts 2025-26 academic calendar after parent, staff survey
Summary
Trustees approved the 2025-26 academic calendar Dec. 16, following parent and employee surveys that favored "Calendar A." The calendar ends before Memorial Day, adds transition days for certain grades, and keeps instructional-minute requirements, trustees said.
The Santa Fe Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 2025–26 academic calendar at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Rachel (last name not specified), the staff presenter, said the calendar was chosen after surveys of parents and employees and review by the District Education Improvement Committee (DEIC). She said the DEIC and the surveys favored "Calendar A," which received 69% support in the staff/parent poll.
Key features of the adopted calendar, as described by staff and trustees: - The school year ends before Memorial Day (a priority expressed repeatedly in the survey). - Transition days are included for pre-K, kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades to smooth grade-level changes. - The calendar preserves three weekends at Christmas and a full Thanksgiving weekend, and includes a shorter fall break (a four-day weekend in the fall rather than a full week). - Planning/learning-exchange days for teachers and planning days before each nine-week grading period were preserved based on staff preference. - Staff said the calendar meets the state-required instructional minutes and includes a small buffer of extra minutes for weather or other interruptions.
Trustees discussed instructional time and scheduling. One trustee asked whether lengthening class periods (for example, to 55 minutes instead of 50) could increase instructional minutes and reduce the total number of school days; staff said such tradeoffs could be considered in future surveys. Trustees acknowledged competing priorities—family scheduling, regional calendar alignment and instructional-minute requirements—and praised the use of survey data.
A motion to approve the 2025–26 calendar was moved and seconded on the record; board members then voted unanimously to adopt the calendar.
No additional implementation details (exact day-by-day schedule dates) beyond the features listed were provided during the meeting; staff said the calendar would be distributed to campuses and posted once finalized.
