Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:It is now April 11 and the calendars posted on the DCPS "Next School Year" page are still from 2015-2016.
http://dcps.dc.gov/publication/dcps-calendar-next-school-year

(For those keeping score, only two months remain in the 2015-2016 school year.)

Any info or insight on when the actual 2016-2017 calendar will issue? Can we at least plan on August 22 being the first day of school?

Already posted: http://dcps.dc.gov/node/1147171

It is now April 11 and the calendars posted on the DCPS "Next School Year" page are still from 2015-2016.
http://dcps.dc.gov/publication/dcps-calendar-next-school-year

(For those keeping score, only two months remain in the 2015-2016 school year.)

Any info or insight on when the actual 2016-2017 calendar will issue? Can we at least plan on August 22 being the first day of school?

From the survey DCPS released with the proposed calendar:

We are considering scheduling Winter Break from Dec. 22, 2016 to Jan. 2, 2017, providing students 8 weekdays of vacation instead of the traditional 10.

There are several reasons for this:
1. It will allow us to end the school year earlier in June
2. If necessary, we can use June 14-16 as make-up days for snow days
3. It helps us accommodate the extra holiday of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017.
4. It is similar to Winter Breaks for Prince George's County and Montgomery County

We plan to hold Spring Break on the week immediately following Easter, as in years past. In 2017, Emancipation Day also happens to be the day after Easter.

We are considering 3 different models for Professional Development (PD) days. On PD days, teachers and staff must come to school, but there is no school for students.

OPTION A: Conduct 5 full-day PD days before the start of the school year in August and 5 more full-day PD days spaced throughout the year. This is the model we have used in the past.

OPTION B: Conduct 10 full-day PD days before the start of the school year in August, and no PD days during the year.

OPTION C: Conduct 5 full-day PD days before the start of the school year in August, and 10 more half-day PD days throughout the year. This will result in more half-days for students (likely on Fridays).

If we choose Option C, we will need to condense the calendar so students attend the same number of days, but over fewer weeks.

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. We always have the week before for PD. They are determining if we are going to do all 10 days of PD at the beginning or throughout the year. Kamras told us that they already decided we would do 5 half days throughout the year so I don't get the hold up if they already know about PD.

Wait--10 half days or five full days across the year? Those were the two options, I believe. Not five half days.

Five full days us what they currently do, and 10 half days was a new option.

Wrong. We always have the week before for PD. They are determining if we are going to do all 10 days of PD at the beginning or throughout the year. Kamras told us that they already decided we would do 5 half days throughout the year so I don't get the hold up if they already know about PD.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, late to the game obviously - is there reason (other than this is DCPS and it's not finalized) to think that the 22nd as a start date is up in the air? Was there talk somewhere of a delay?

It is only the proposed calendar -- they always seek public comment and then finalize.

Last year spring break shifted significantly from the proposed to the final version.

The proposed calendar suggests 5 days of PD for teachers the week before school starts, which is not how it's been done in the past. That may or may not go final, and if they change their minds they will need to move things around to fit in all the required days.