Anonymous wrote:No. The state mandates a certain number of days.

Some privates don't give days off for some religious holidays, so that's why they may end their school year earlier than public. Also no need to close on election day for example.

Depends on the state. VA mandates the same minimum for public and private. MD has a 180 min for public and 168 for private. Length of school days doesn’t matter in MD either. So many days in private schools are half days, 2 hour special assemblies or even student led conferences where the kid isn’t even on campus a whole hour.

State of Virginia requires 180 for accredited private schools.

For us in Public: 180 school days that are 6.5 hours long (:45 min lunch/recess). Total 945 hours of instruction time (minus interruptions, etc.)

For us in private: 173 school days that are 7.5 hours long (1 hour lunch/recess). 1124.5 hours of instruction (uninterrupted). So 180 more hours of instruction time.

Anonymous wrote:Are they significantly less than public schools?

Not at my kids private HS.

The difference: none of these random days off. Our public system had a very long stretch where there wasn't a single 5-day school week for two months.

We have very few holidays/work days off. Thanksgiving, 1.5 week at Christmas, 1.5 week spring break and then finish end of May. We start around Aug, 24th each year.

You cut out all the riff-raff and get more full days in a row.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS has 20 days more of school than several privates in our area.

Agree

Agree adding up man hours is a good way to get accurate answer too.

We get more feedback from public school MAP year than we ever did from the private school ERB or MAP mailer.

Anonymous wrote:Our private is 10 days less than public (we have one kid in each).

It’s about 160 days in private k-12 versus whatever in public.

Just pull the calendar, eyeball the half days, days off, late starts, blow off week in June and you have your answer. There’s often a slow September too unless in upper school (less funny business and coddling).

Anonymous wrote:But you also have to consider hours per day.

Which has longer hours, public or private? Thogjt it was the same

But you also have to consider hours per day.

Public schools are 180 and private schools are 170.

DCPS has 20 days more of school than several privates in our area.

Compared to FCPS, my kid's school starts one week later and ends two weeks earlier. We're on a trimester system and each trimester there are three teacher workdays (includes parent conferences).

The breaks are 1 full week at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas, and 2 weeks for spring break. But other than the breaks and workdays, and Federal holidays, the kids are in school.

Our private is 10 days less than public (we have one kid in each).

No, they are pretty much similar. I have a kid in public and a kid in private, the private has 2 weeks winter break, vs 1 week, and summer break starts earlier by a week, and the teacher professional development and holidays / no school days fall mostly on Friday or Monday. So it’s more consolidated. Mcps has more random mid-week no school days. But all in all, the number of days are not significantly different between the two.

No. The state mandates a certain number of days.

Some privates don't give days off for some religious holidays, so that's why they may end their school year earlier than public. Also no need to close on election day for example.

Are they significantly less than public schools?