Dear Colleagues,

In this last full week of school before winter break, there are many celebrations and tasks to get done as we all make our mad dash to the finish line. Whether you have two weeks off or a couple of days, I hope you can take some time for rest, reflection, family and friends as 2022 comes to a close.

One of the items on my list this week is the December Board meeting on Tuesday night. At this meeting, the Board will vote on the calendar for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. As staff, you had an opportunity to share your preferences around winter and spring breaks in a survey last month. Meetings with several of our bargaining groups, a family survey, and discussions with our Parent Advisory Councils were also part of this extensive engagement process.

Across all of these groups, a full two-week winter break was the clear favorite, with 59% of staff and 56% of families who responded to the survey choosing this option. This preference, along with required hours of instruction, contractual duty days, PD and conference days, and other requirements, is one of the key elements of the proposed calendars that will be voted on Tuesday night.

Another important piece of this puzzle is making our school calendar more inclusive of cultural celebrations. For next year, the proposed calendar includes a day off for students on Yom Kippur in September and recognizing Eid al-Fitr in April during spring break. In 2024-25, Rosh Hashanah is a non-school day for students and spring break includes Eid al-Fitr. You can review both proposed calendars on page 71 of the Board Book.

While I wish we could recognize even more days in our calendar, these proposed changes are one way our district can honor our communities’ diverse array of cultures and unique identities. The Office of Equity is a great resource for all of us to be aware of and acknowledge important days when we are in school (see the December Days to Remember for this month’s resources).

Thank you all for your continued dedication to your students, their families and your colleagues in this first half of the school year. I wish you all a happy holiday season, no matter how or what you celebrate. See you in 2023!

In Partnership,

Joe Gothard, Superintendent