Calendar Development: 2024-25 & 2025-26
Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) has started its annual calendar development process earlier than usual with a plan to approve a two-year calendar for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years by fall 2023. Throughout the development process, the Calendar Committee, which is composed of teachers, parents/guardians, and school and central office administrators, will consider feedback from students, employees, families, and community members, and their work will prioritize the following goals:
- Create a two-year calendar that meets state requirements for instructional hours and supports the division’s efforts to engage students and improve opportunities and achievement.
- Enable time for division-level and school-based professional learning and collaboration for staff to deepen their understanding of instructional practices that support student learning.
- Embed time for teachers to work individually on such tasks as updating lesson plans, grading assignments, preparing materials, etc.
- Limit the number of half-days for students.
Calendar Development Timeline
The following dates are subject to change.
- April 18, 2023 | First committee meeting to review multiple calendar drafts
- April 25, 2023 | Second committee meeting to determine which draft calendar(s) to put forth for public review
- May 17, 2023 | Post draft calendar(s) and open community survey for feedback
- June 2, 2023 | Close community survey
- Oct. 23, 2023 | Third committee meeting to review survey feedback
- Dec. 4, 2023 | Fourth committee meeting to finalize recommended calendar
- Dec. 14, 2023 (tentative) | Present recommended calendar to school board for review
- Jan. 11, 2024 (tentative) | Present recommended calendar to school board for approval
Community Survey: May 17 – June 2, 2023
To help with planning, the Calendar Committee asked stakeholders to review the two draft calendars below and then participate in a survey between May 17 and June 2, 2023:
The survey sought opinions from participants on an earlier start to the school year; a shorter Winter Break; an earlier Spring Break; the timing of teacher workdays and professional learning days; and the appropriate number of instructional days for students. In total, more than 1,700 students, parents/guardians, employees, and community members participated in the survey. Thank you for your valuable input! Survey results can be viewed as a PDF or Word document by clicking on the following buttons:
Survey Results - PDF Survey Results - Word
This fall, the Calendar Committee will reconvene to review community feedback and begin crafting a two-year calendar for school board review and approval. (The recommended 2024-25 and 2025-26 calendars will have similar structures.) Please note that it is unlikely that either of these draft calendars will move forward as the recommended calendar for the 2024-25 school year. They are intended as a starting point, whereby “Calendar 1” more closely resembles our traditional calendar, and “Calendar 2” includes some of the ideas we’re evaluating.