Downingtown board previews 2026–27 calendar, will use up to five flexible remote snow days

The Downingtown Area School District presented a draft 2026–27 academic calendar and described how the district plans to handle snow days using flexible remote instruction.

Rob, district staff who walked the board through the draft, said the calendar starts Aug. 25 with a four‑day opening week and that the district intends to use up to five flexible remote instructional days for snow makeups (a K–12 modified schedule was cited as an example, such as a 9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. day). "We would go to the flexional and that's what you're calling in... remote days where we have a K–12 schedule," Dr. Reed said during questions about snow day structure. The transcript records the schedule example as 9:00 to 1:30 for K–12.

Rob said the district tried to accommodate religious holidays, testing windows and staff professional development when placing breaks and in‑service days. He noted a March week with a blue day to allow a spring break option and highlighted that the PSSA and Keystone testing windows fall in late April and in May, respectively. The proposed final student day listed in the presentation was June 4, with graduations scheduled the preceding days.

Board members expressed mixed survey feedback and some concern over the long April–May stretch that includes multiple testing windows, but several said they appreciated the March week and the four‑day start. Superintendent Doctor O'Donnell said staff will circulate a revised calendar next month and notify families once it is finalized.

No formal board vote on the calendar was recorded in the committee transcript.