The era of 180-day school years is fading fast in the rear-view mirror, but Arlington Public Schools students will receive more than the state-mandated minimum of 990 hours during the 2022-23 school year, according to a draft calendar going to School Board members Dec. 2.
The staff recommendation builds in 37.9 extra hours at the high-school level, 37.85 hours at middle school and 33.25 at elementary school in a school year that opens Aug. 29, 2022, and ends, depending on grade level, on June 14-16, 2023.
Students will start the school year with four days of instruction followed by a four-day weekend to accommodate Labor Day, under the draft proposal, and will get more than two straight weeks away from classrooms for a winter break. Spring break is set for April 3-7, with other holidays and time off scattered throughout the school year.
The calendar will provide 175 instructional days for students in the elementary- and high-school levels, 174 days for middle-school levels. State law requires either 180 days or 990 hours, but not both.