Calendar Development: 2025-26 School Year

A diverse Calendar Committee, consisting of school and department administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents/guardians, is currently working on developing the 2025-26 school year calendar. The process is guided by the following key considerations and requirements:

1. State Requirements: By state law, our school calendar must include at least 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours.
2. Professional Learning & Collaboration: The calendar will be designed to accommodate professional learning and collaboration time for staff. We will evaluate the number of professional learning days and the potential use of half-days for these activities.
3. Calendar Committee: We will seek input from a diverse advisory committee, including teachers, parents, and school administrators, to recommend a calendar to the superintendent.
4. Teacher Contracts: The standard 10-month teacher contract will include 200 days. This comprises a minimum of 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours, plus up to 20 additional days for various activities such as professional development, planning, and committee work, as outlined in § 22.1-302 of the Virginia Code.
5. Calendar Options: For the 2025-26 school year, we will consider:
   • The benefits and drawbacks of starting and ending the school year earlier than usual, and whether to conclude the first semester at Winter Break.
   • Unique calendar options, which may offer different scheduling structures.
6. Half-Day Professional Learning Days: We will evaluate the pros and cons of having half-day professional learning days.
7. Student Days: We aim to maintain a minimum of 176 student days.
8. Breaks & Holidays:
   • We plan to maintain a two-week Winter Break.
   • We will strive for consistency with Charlottesville City Schools regarding major breaks and holidays.