SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale

References:
● Academic Year 2023/2024 Calendar
● Academic Year 2024/2025 Calendar

Executive Summary
In June 2022, Policy 803 - Academic Calendar and the related Administrative Procedures were approved by the SDP Board of Education. This policy guides
the process for the adoption of an annual school calendar that reflects the District’s commitment to our core beliefs and goals, including our commitment to
equity.

In alignment with these newly approved procedures, two committees were formed in response to the need of stakeholder engagement in the development of
the calendar: (1) The Academic Calendar Oversight Committee which includes representation from District Chief Offices to provide oversight to the
development of the calendar in preparation for it to be reviewed and presented to the Superintendent and Board of Education and (2) The Academic Calendar
Stakeholder Engagement Committee which engages stakeholders through various feedback sessions.

In addition, in partnership with the Office of Evaluation, Research and Accountability (ERA), a district-wide survey was developed and distributed. ERA
provided an analysis of the results that informed decisions regarding the calendar development. An Academic Calendar Core Team analyzed student level
data, other district calendars and our Collective Bargaining Agreements with The School District of Philadelphia and the various bargaining units.

Outlined below is a summary of decisions based on the research and feedback, and the corresponding rationale. Our primary goal is to create calendars that
support student learning and meet the needs of students, families and staff, as well as adhere to calendar requirements mandated by the Pennsylvania
Department of Education and Collective Bargaining Units.

Stakeholder Engagement and Research Completed to Date

● 18 feedback sessions from multiple stakeholder groups – 242 participants
○ Stakeholder Groups: Families/Community, Teachers, School Based Teacher Leaders, Partners, Students, Principals, Assistant
Superintendents, Office of Teaching and Learning Staff and Coaches, Religious Leaders, Union Leaders, Government Officials
● District Wide Academic Calendar Survey (translated in 9 languages) – 3,991 responses
● Collective Bargaining Agreements Review
 ● Data Analysis of Student and Staff Attendance of Staff during Holidays
● Academic Calendar School District Comparison: Miami Dade School District, Boston Public Schools, DC Public Schools, Dallas Independent School
District, Detroit Public Schools, Cleveland Public Schools, Cheltenham School District, Lower Merion School District, William Penn School District,
Upper Darby School District, Radnor School District
● Temperature Analysis (August and June)

Academic Calendar Contract and Policy Requirements

Academic Calendars must include the following:
● Five national holidays: Independence Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day (24 P.S. § 1502)
○ 10 month employees under the PFT contract must have at least 12 paid holidays including the five holidays required by the State (Article
XXV, Article A, Collective Bargaining Agreement)
● 181 student days (24 P.S. § 1501) and 188 teacher work days within July 1st and June 30th (Article XVII, Article A, Collective Bargaining Agreement)
● 900 instructional hours for elementary and middle school students; 990 instructional hours for high school students (24 P.S. §15-1504)
● Five (5) interview half days for all Kindergarten teachers during the first five (5) days of the student school year. (Article XVIII, Section D, Collective
Bargaining Agreement)
● Minimum of 28 professional development hours (Article X, Section B, Collective Bargaining Agreement)
● Two (2) evening meetings per year and, provided there is joint agreement by the Principal, the Building Representative, and the President of the
Home & School Association (if there is one), a third evening meeting per year. (Article XII, Article B, Collective Bargaining Agreement)
● Payroll Contract Year runs from August 16th-June 15th of a given school year. The payroll contract year drives how the payroll system pays
10-month employees who are paid over 12 months. All school days must fall within this period of time.

SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023
 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 Proposed Academic Calendars Decisions and Rationale

As a result of the formal and informal sources of data, listed below is a summary of decisions made and the rationale for what is included in the 2023/2024
and 2024/2025 academic calendars.
First Day of School

Decision Rationale

SY23/24: Students Return After Feedback session and survey responses from all stakeholder groups consistently reflected a preference for an
Labor Day after Labor Day start for students. Reasons included:

● Beginning school after Labor Day avoids possible school closures due to excessive heat. These closures
exacerbate inequities between schools that have air conditioning and those that do not.
● Hot temperatures during the first few days of school (and schools being unable to cool buildings) leads
to headaches, lack of attention and general frustration
● International families often do not return back to the United States until after Labor Day due to air fare
expenses. This impacts instructional time and student attendance.
● A later start day has a positive impact on leveling since once students begin school, they will continue to
attend without interruption, yielding to increased student attendance for the first weeks of school.

SY24/25: Students Return There must be 181 school days for students within the SDP payroll contract year that runs from August
before Labor Day 16th-June 15th. Because of how days fall in SY24/25, it is not possible to have an after Labor Day start while
maintaining our Winter and Spring Recesses. In order to meet these requirements and maintain much needed
breaks for students and staff, the collective decision is to start school before Labor Day in SY24/25.

Whenever possible, we will aim to start school after Labor Day in future calendars to alleviate the barriers noted
above.

In addition, we will work closely with the Office of Capital Projects and Facilities to expand cooling systems in
our buildings to address heat concerns in August.

Last Day of School

Decision Rationale

Last two days of school will be In past years, teachers and other staff have stayed an additional day after the last day for students. Given that
Half Days (Three Hour Early 10-month staff members only work a total of 188 days (seven full days without students), placing this day for
Dismissal) staff learning earlier in the school year will have a greater impact on teacher practice, which in turn will have a

SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023
 greater impact on student achievement.

The two half days at the end of the year will ensure staff members can prepare their rooms for summer cleaning,
classrooms, receive any end of year materials, and attend any final staff meetings.

School Ends by or before June The SDP payroll contract year begins on August 16th to June 15th, therefore we cannot end for teaching staff
15th beyond June 15th on any last day of school.

Religious/Cultural Celebrations

Decision Rationale

Indigenous Peoples Day In consultation with Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly Inc., this day will be used for a day of learning about the
celebrated as an history of our Country, State and City and Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to society. An in school day of
in-school/in-person day of learning allows for true celebration of this day. In addition, this will result in less instructional time lost in our
learning – resources will be classrooms. We have spoken to indigenous leaders from Indigenous Peoples Day Philly (Indigenous Peoples'
provided to instructional staff Day Philly, Inc.) who have expressed interest in collaborating and supporting the district with celebrations for
this day.

Holidays/Cultural celebrations There must be 181 school days for students and ensure they fall within our payroll contract year that runs from
that fall on weekends will not August 16th-June 15th. In order to meet these requirements, we will only be able to observe religious holidays
be observed on the Friday or that fall on weekdays.
Monday, except when
mandated by the State of
Pennsylvania

Lunar New Year will be We continue to be committed to making our District as inclusive as possible. Numerous responses to our survey
included on the calendar as an and in person community feedback sessions noted the importance of ensuring our large population of Asian
observed day off when it falls communities are represented in the calendar.
on a weekday

Diwali will not be an observed We have carefully considered all of the feedback and constraints in developing and making difficult decisions on
holiday on the calendar what holidays are observed in our calendar. Unfortunately, we are unable to include Diwali as an observed
holiday in this year’s calendar.

After reviewing our survey data, we found that there is a smaller population of students and staff that practice
and celebrate Diwali in comparison to other observed holidays. As such, we are unable to prioritize Diwali as an
observed holiday this year. Instead, it will be an in school day of learning where we still hope to honor the day
and populations that practice. This day will be considered for holiday observation in future calendars as our
constraints shift with the movement of where other dates fall in future calendar years.

SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023
 Veterans Day will be celebrated We must have 181 school days for students and ensure they fall within our payroll contract year that runs from
as in school day of learning August 16th-June 15th. In order to meet these requirements we decided based on our community feedback
(SY23/24 and SY24/25) sessions and survey data to prioritize cultural/religious holidays as days off instead of Veterans Day. The day
will be used as an in school day of learning to honor and learn about our Veterans.

Eid al-Adha will be added to the Consultation from area religious leaders and feedback from the survey consistently demonstrated the
calendar as an observed day importance of a day off for Eid al-Adha for our significant Muslim population. SY24/25 will be the first time in
off many years that Eid al-Adha will fall during the school year (rather than during the summer).

Days for Eid al-Fitr and Eid The Islamic calendar is lunar; therefore, the date of Eid is unknown until the moon sighting. It is estimated every
al-Adha year and is subject to change. SDP will observe a date recommended by religious leaders for these holidays.

Professional Development

Decision Rationale

Three days for teacher/staff Stakeholder feedback was mixed in regard to the number of days needed for professional development before
professional development the first day of school. In general, stakeholders agreed that at least some time is needed to ensure a smooth
before the first day of school start to the school year, however it was noted multiple times that a full week can be taxing and overwhelming. To
meet this spectrum of needs, we have decided to have three full days for professional development before the
first week of school.

Five half days for staff Feedback from families indicated that half days are a hardship for parents and create extensive childcare
professional development challenges. In addition teachers and principals noted that half days feel rushed and invaluable student
(reduction of five half days) instructional time is missed. Student attendance data is generally low on these days. As a result we are reducing
the number of half days to minimize these challenges, while still ensuring time is reserved on the calendar for
needed professional development.

Reorganization will be the first Feedback from teachers and principals indicated that staff are eager to get into their classrooms to set up as
day back for teachers early as possible. When reorganization days are planned for later in the week, staff are often distracted and less
engaged in the necessary professional development needed to have a successful school year and learn of any
new initiatives.

Report Card Conferences

Decision Rationale

Term 1 Report Card Reporting of Student Progress to Parents is critical to ensuring students are provided with every opportunity to
Conferences will now be a full succeed. Schools inform families of progress through Interim Reports, Daily Reports and other modes. Based
day on feedback, report Card Conference processes and format can be modified due to the ongoing communication
at the school level at various times throughout the year.
SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023
 Open ended responses on the survey and comments in the feedback sessions consistently reflected a
preference for full days over half days. Families referenced a need for greater diversity in timing and ways to
access conferences. Consecutive half day conferences also have a significant impact on student absences. In
the 2021-2022 school year the greatest increase in absences were during the three half days report card
conference spans.

To address these challenges, we have decided to utilize a full day for report card conferences to give parents
additional options for engagement and to reduce consecutive half days which significantly impact student
attendance.

Please note that guidance around Report Card Conferences for Staff will be created to support this shift.

Term 2 and 3 Report Card Open ended comments from the survey and responses from the feedback sessions indicated consecutive half
Conferences will be reduced days as a hardship for families.
from three (3) half days for
students to two (2) half days In addition, student level data reflects lower student attendance on consecutive half days. In response, we are
reducing the number of consecutive half days for report card conferences while still ensuring adequate time is
provided for families and teachers to meet.

Winter and Spring Recesses

Decision Rationale

Administrative offices will be Administrative offices have been closed during the winter recess for the past three years. This practice will now
closed for winter recess be codified in the calendar so that staff may plan for travel and/or childcare needs in advance.

Additional days will be added In SY24/25 the mandated Christmas holiday off occurs on a Wednesday and Christmas Eve occurs on a Tuesday.
to winter recess in SY24/25 The mandated New Years Day off occurs on a Wednesday as well. We have decided to include Monday,
December the 23rd as the start of Winter Recess and Thursday, January 2nd as the end of Winter Recess in
anticipation of low student and staff attendance on these days.

Please note: Friday, January 3rd will be a full day professional development day, school will be closed for
students.

Miscellaneous

Decision Rationale

Half day for all students and Staff and community members consistently spoke to the desire for a half day before Thanksgiving to allow time
staff the day before to prepare and travel. Attendance on this day has historically been low.
SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023
 Thanksgiving
In recognition of this, we have decided to have a half day for all students and staff the day before Thanksgiving.

SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars : Executive Summary and Decision Rationale (For Internal purposes only) 1.30.2023