School year calendars

[kphoger]

Looking at our county's calendar, they give 6 full-week breaks spread over the course of the year.  Three of them are the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Do you mean that Christmas break and New Year's break are separated from each other by one or more school days?

No, those two are back-to-back off weeks.

Oh, OK.  In my mind, then, those are not two one-week breaks.  Rather it is a single two-week break.

[kphoger]

Understandably so, but you're only looking at this through the lens of a student. Teachers need time to have meetings, prepare lesson plans, etc.

Of course, most teachers I know would much rather never attend a single meeting...

[JayhawkCO]

Understandably so, but you're only looking at this through the lens of a student. Teachers need time to have meetings, prepare lesson plans, etc.

Of course, most teachers I know would much rather never attend a single meeting...

Sure, but they're going to be scheduled by admin anyway, so would you rather have it during your contract hours? Or before/after school?

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Understandably so, but you're only looking at this through the lens of a student. Teachers need time to have meetings, prepare lesson plans, etc.

Of course, most teachers I know would much rather never attend a single meeting...

Sure, but they're going to be scheduled by admin anyway, so would you rather have it during your contract hours? Or before/after school?

Lesson plans I understand, but what about planning periods. Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

[kphoger]

Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

Do you not have any idea what an in-service day is?

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

Do you not have any idea what an in-service day is?

No, but considering I am thinking about going into the education field I probably should.

[JayhawkCO]

Understandably so, but you're only looking at this through the lens of a student. Teachers need time to have meetings, prepare lesson plans, etc.

Of course, most teachers I know would much rather never attend a single meeting...

Sure, but they're going to be scheduled by admin anyway, so would you rather have it during your contract hours? Or before/after school?

Lesson plans I understand, but what about planning periods. Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

Planning period are just for catching up, and for eating lunch. Lots of meetings/trainings about curriculum, policy changes, scheduling, school activities (field days and the like), students on IEPs, safety planning, etc.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I think that in order to make up for days with no schools schedule practices or games on that day. I had a second thought about this, but I will put that in the minor things that bother you thread, since it is more related to that.

[kphoger]

Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

Do you not have any idea what an in-service day is?

No, but considering I am thinking about going into the education field I probably should.

Teacher in-service days are when someone who is terrible at public speaking gives a training session to all the teachers, by reading straight from the PowerPoint slides, about subject matter that nobody except first-year teachers has any interest in and/or doesn't already know and/or couldn't learn from a half-hour YouTube video, while the teachers all pretend to take notes on their laptops, but actually they're just catching up on work stuff that they'd otherwise be doing from home or during planning period, and everyone hopes to God that there won't be any break-out sessions where everyone has to pretend to be engaged, but if there are then they just chat about whatever they feel like instead of the actual subject matter, until it's finally over so they can go straighten up their classroom for a few minutes so the trip doesn't feel like a complete waste of their time.

At least, that's what I've gathered from my teacher friends.  Does that help?

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Also what type of meetings do teachers need  to sit in?

Do you not have any idea what an in-service day is?

No, but considering I am thinking about going into the education field I probably should.

Teacher in-service days are when someone who is terrible at public speaking gives a training session to all the teachers, by reading straight from the PowerPoint slides, about subject matter that nobody except first-year teachers has any interest in and/or doesn't already know and/or couldn't learn from a half-hour YouTube video, while the teachers all pretend to take notes on their laptops, but actually they're just catching up on work stuff that they'd otherwise be doing from home or during planning period, and everyone hopes to God that there won't be any break-out sessions where everyone has to pretend to be engaged, but if there are then they just chat about whatever they feel like instead of the actual subject matter, until it's finally over so they can go straighten up their classroom for a few minutes so the trip doesn't feel like a complete waste of their time.

At least, that's what I've gathered from my teacher friends.  Does that help?

Thank You, I swear I have seen something similar at my college.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

[kphoger]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

I don't think most of them do.

Kankakee Community College:  12/23/2026 – 1/3/2026
Not exactly a whole month.

[NWI_Irish96]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

I don't think most of them do.

Kankakee Community College:  12/23/2026 – 1/3/2026
Not exactly a whole month.

College semesters are shorter than K-12 semesters, so there's more time for breaks. Plus, lots of kids go to college a good distance from home and don't get home as much during the semester so they appreciate the longer breaks.

Community colleges rarely have students far from home, so their breaks tend to be shorter.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

I don't think most of them do.

Kankakee Community College:  12/23/2026 – 1/3/2026
Not exactly a whole month.

I am currently at KCC, I had 2 classes in the Fall 2025 semester, one that ended on 12/16/25, the other one ended 12/23 and students came back at 1/10/26. I think that is the dates for the staff.

[CtrlAltDel]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

I don't think most of them do.

Kankakee Community College:  12/23/2026 – 1/3/2026
Not exactly a whole month.

I am currently at KCC, I had 2 classes in the Fall 2025 semester, one that ended on 12/16/25, the other one ended 12/23 and students came back at 1/10/26. I think that is the dates for the staff.

Those are indeed the dates for staff. As you can see from the calendar, the actual last day for students is set to be December 10, and the first day of the next semester is January 11.

 

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

I don't think most of them do.

Kankakee Community College:  12/23/2026 – 1/3/2026
Not exactly a whole month.

I am currently at KCC, I had 2 classes in the Fall 2025 semester, one that ended on 12/16/25, the other one ended 12/23 and students came back at 1/10/26. I think that is the dates for the staff.

Those are indeed the dates for staff. As you can see from the calendar, the actual last day for students is set to be December 10.

I might checked the wrong checked the wrong thing then.

[GaryV]

I am also wondering why do colleges have a month long Christmas break.

Colleges typically have 15 or 16 weeks in a semester. Schools often have 18-20. So there's plenty of extra time for college breaks.

[Scott5114]

maybe Monday eliminate Spring Break (I don't see why that should exist anyway).

So that teachers don't murder their students.

It's the light at the end of the February tunnel, for both students and teachers.

Yes, I remember January and February being brutal to get through. Even though the winter weather in Washington, Oklahoma is comparatively mild, for some reason we didn't observe MLK Day or President's Day, so our schedule was a continuous slog with no breaks from New Year's to Spring Break. I guess the idea was that if we were going to have a snow day, it'd be in that time frame, so that would be our break.

Not observing MLK Day was pretty unusual even by Oklahoma standards. My Boy Scout troop was based in Norman and they would sometimes schedule something on MLK Day because Norman schools were out. They looked at me like I had two heads when I told them that I couldn't be there because Washington had class that day. The one year we had a black student, he seemed genuinely irate about having to be there that day. (He didn't re-enroll the following year—I can't imagine why not.)

I just checked Washington's school calendar for 2026-2027. The first day of school is Wednesday, August 12 (they always start with a half-week so the first few days can be for handing out syllabi, setting expectations, getting students used to where their classes are, etc., with actual school work starting on the following Monday), and the last day is Thursday, May 20. It looks like they do now take MLK Day off, the holiday is not named and it just says "No School" (which is how they also have marked Labor Day and, for whatever reason, Friday, September 18). President's Day is set aside for parent/teacher conferences. There are now two makeup days, April 30 and May 14 (both Fridays), where class is held if there was a snow day but are off if there wasn't (this was something they were experimenting with when I was there, to avoid having to add days onto the school year to meet the state-mandated 180 class days).

[ZLoth]

I was a high school senior in 1991-92, and we didn't start until the day after Labor Day that year. I remember it being Labor Day and I didn't even know yet when school would start, or even if it had started. Still, I think the school year ended in May, not June. We need to go back to that.

IMO school should be the Tuesday after Labor Day to the Friday before Memorial Day.

No on the Tuesday after Labor Day, with the reason being that the quarter/semester ended in early January. This is especially true of my early Community College days when you returned in early January for a week prior to finals. My friends would be off doing holiday fun, my family would insist that I join them on activities, and before I knew it, I was in trouble.

Of course, moving the start date to mid-August meant that often, I had to skip the California State Fair which took place (you guessed it) the last half of August. Of course, the Texas State Fair is held in Dallas in September, and I have not been to that.... yet.

[Scott5114]

Of course, moving the start date to mid-August meant that often, I had to skip the California State Fair which took place (you guessed it) the last half of August. Of course, the Texas State Fair is held in Dallas in September, and I have not been to that.... yet.

The Oklahoma State Fair also takes place in September, which is fun because no matter which week they put it on, that is invariably the week that the heat dome breaks and ends the summer drought.

[kalvado]

I believe NYS requirements for schools are 182 days of instruction a year, which somehow  ends up as 180 actual days, or 36 full weeks. Lately, a lot of small ethnic holidays were added throughout the year,  eating into any scheduling reserves and requiring shorter breaks.

[Road Hog]

I believe NYS requirements for schools are 182 days of instruction a year, which somehow  ends up as 180 actual days, or 36 full weeks. Lately, a lot of small ethnic holidays were added throughout the year,  eating into any scheduling reserves and requiring shorter breaks.

Texas used to mandate 180 or so days but changed it a few years ago to 75,600 operational minutes per school year, including recess and lunch. What that does is give schools flexibility to schedule longer days and give more days off. Some districts now go four days a week and are off every Friday.

[kphoger]

Our sons do homeschooling and/or online schooling, depending on which one you're talking about.  The online school doesn't have a calendar to go by, so scheduling their school year is completely up to us.  We always have them start the day after Labor Day.  Their courses end whenever they get through all the material for that semester, so there's no hard end date, but they're always done in plenty of time for Christmas.  We cap off Christmastide with a big family holiday meal on Epiphany, and we don't have them start classes again till after that.  They usually plow through one or two courses faster than another one or two courses during second semester, so their work kind of peters out.  One course might be done in February or March, another might last into June, just depends on the kid.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky requires 185 instructional days a year, up from 175 when I was a student.

When I was a student, we got the traditional Christmas break of approximately two weeks, but the only spring and fall breaks we got were one day in one season for the regional Kentucky Education Association meeting (for some strange reason, our county was in the central district rather than the eastern district) and two days in the other season for the statewide KEA meeting. Plus we got two days for Thanksgiving.

Now, there is typically a full week in the fall and a full week in the spring, but sometimes those spring break days are taken back and utilized for make-up of days missed due to inclement weather.

Kentucky school systems really can't extend their school calendars much into June. Districts can hire teachers that only have bachelor's degrees, but they are required to get a master's degree within so many years after their initial employment. Most of these teachers take summer classes to earn their master's and Rank I certifications, so they can't be teaching school in the daytime while also taking their own college classes.

[NWI_Irish96]

Kentucky requires 185 instructional days a year, up from 175 when I was a student.

When I was a student, we got the traditional Christmas break of approximately two weeks, but the only spring and fall breaks we got were one day in one season for the regional Kentucky Education Association meeting (for some strange reason, our county was in the central district rather than the eastern district) and two days in the other season for the statewide KEA meeting. Plus we got two days for Thanksgiving.

Now, there is typically a full week in the fall and a full week in the spring, but sometimes those spring break days are taken back and utilized for make-up of days missed due to inclement weather.

Kentucky school systems really can't extend their school calendars much into June. Districts can hire teachers that only have bachelor's degrees, but they are required to get a master's degree within so many years after their initial employment. Most of these teachers take summer classes to earn their master's and Rank I certifications, so they can't be teaching school in the daytime while also taking their own college classes.

I minored in secondary education, studied curriculum in graduate school and taught for a year before making a career shift.

Unless you are wanting to become an administrator, a master's degree is a pointless hoop to make teachers jump through. There's no evidence that an advanced degree makes you a better teacher.

Also, most of Europe requires 220-240 days of school per year. The traditional 180 day calendar is a relic from the days when parents absolutely needed the kids to be off for 3 months in the summer to help on the family farm. The only reason we haven't lengthened the school year is that taxpayers are too stupid to want to pay teachers more for the extra work.