The academic year for Harford County Public Schools will start Thursday, Aug. 27 at the end of the summer of 2015, and, if the weather cooperates, school will end Friday, June 10, 2016, under the calendar approved Monday by the county Board of Education.
Like this school year, students will get a full week off for Thanksgiving when combined with staff development days, an issue that provoked some debate among the board members, as did having classes start on a Thursday.
The Christmas holiday, or winter break as it is now known in the school system, will start on Dec. 23, 2015 with a half-day dismissal, and end with the resumption of classes on Jan. 2.
Students will also get what amounts to a full week for spring break in 2016, from March 21 through March 25, as classes won't be held two of those days for staff development.
A committee of school administrators and community representatives including clergy, PTA members, business, student government, school system employee union members and day care providers drew up the proposed calendar, which was introduced to the board Sept. 22 and posted on the school system's website hcps.org for public comment.
School system Manager of Communications Jillian Lader, who chaired the committee, said about 40 comments were received, and acknowledged that the majority dealt with having students off for the entire week of Thanksgiving, which was done for the first time this school year.
Lader said the committee was taking into account the entire community's needs and that many families, particularly those associated with Aberdeen Proving Ground, travel over Thanksgiving.
Superintendent Barbara Canavan said scheduling professional development days for teachers and other staff in one block is preferable to having them spread a day at a time. The calendar committee, she said, "was charged with eliminating interrupted instruction weeks," and she called the three-day learning conference held prior to this Thanksgiving was "absolutely a phenomenal success."
Joseph Schmitz, executive director of middle and high school performance, said schools typically experience high absentee rates on the days before Thanksgiving and using those days for professional development is "more productive."
Lader was also questioned about the decision to start school on a Thursday, which she said was largely based on setting the desired ending date in June and counting back the required 180 that students must be in class. She also explained that this also gives teachers a few days head start on the students, so they can complete their 190 days in early June.
"It's not unusual to use that time to orient students and to do schedule fixes ...after Labor Day we hit the ground running," Canavan said.
Hannah Jones, the board's student rep, said the start of school is always "a little hectic" and having two days on and then two days off gives students a chance to go over rules, course syllabus and expectations with teachers and then take a breather before getting into "a normal routine and schedule."
Provisions are made for 11 inclement weather days and, were all to be used, classes would end June 22, 2016 instead of June 10.
Lader said the 11 days are based on the number of days students missed because of snow and ice during the 2013-14 school year, not all of which had to be made up, she noted, because the state granted waivers for some because HCPS was "forward thinking" in its planning and in the order in which it notified the public of how missed days would be made up.
"Nobody likes to be having classes in double-digit days in June," board member Alysson Krchnavy said.
Board members also noted the color-coded calendar the committee produced has a number of yellow block days for student assessments and green block days for student tests, as mandated by the Maryland Department of Education, with the heaviest concentrations in March, April and May.
Canavan and several members of her staff assured the board that not all students in every school are being tested at the same time, hence the number of days involved, all of which come down to the mandates they must abide from the state.
2015-16 school calendar highlights include:
• New teachers report Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
• Returning teachers report on Monday, Aug. 24, 2015.
• School begins for students (kindergarten through grade 12) on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015.
• School begins for pre-kindergarten students on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015.
• School is closed for one-day student and teacher holidays: Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 (Labor Day); Monday, Sept. 14, 2015 (Rosh Hashanah); Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 (Yom Kippur); Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 (MSEA Day); Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day); Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 (Presidents Day); Tuesday, April 5, 2016 (Election Day - subject to change); Monday, May 30, 2016 (Memorial Day
• Schools are closed for Thanksgiving break Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27, 2015.
• Schools are closed for winter break from Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015 through Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, with an early dismissal on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
• Schools are closed for spring break Wednesday, March 23 through Monday, March 28, 2016.
• Schools are closed for staff development on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, Monday, Nov. 23, Tuesday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Nov 25, 2015 (early dismissal for staff), Monday, March 21, Tuesday, March 22, and one day after the students last day.
• Three hour early elementary dismissal days are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11, Friday, Oct. 2, Friday, Nov. 13, Friday, Dec. 11, Friday, Jan. 15, Friday, Feb. 12, Friday, March 4, Friday, April 15, Friday, May 6, and Friday, May 27.
• With no inclement weather days used: The last day for pre-kindergarten students is Wednesday, June 8, 2016; the 180th student day for those in kindergarten through 11th grade is Friday, June 10; and the 190th teacher day is Monday, June 13.
•With all (11) inclement weather days used: The last day for pre-kindergarten students is Monday, June 20, 2016; the last day for those in kindergarten through 11th grade is Wednesday, June 22; and the last teacher day is Thursday, June 23.
• Inclement weather makeup days are scheduled in this order: Monday, June 13, Tuesday, June 14, Wednesday, June 15, Thursday, June 16, Friday, June 17, Monday, March 21, Tuesday, March 22, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, Monday, June 20, Tuesday, June 21, Wednesday, June 22.