Two North Texas school systems are considering different scheduling options for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Both Lewisville and Plano Independent School Districts have asked for input from their respective stakeholders to help choose between prospective academic calendar options for the upcoming term.
Lewisville ISD
Lewisville ISD’s board of trustees, during its meeting on November 14, reviewed and selected three different proposals for parents and staff to vote on.
The three proposals for the 2024-2025 academic calendar are:
- Start on August 8, 2024, and end on May 22, 2025.
- Start on August 13, 2024, and end on May 23, 2025.
- Start on August 14, 2024, and end on May 29, 2025.
These options were developed taking into account parent and staff feedback while meeting the state requirement of 75,600 instructional minutes.
Shawna Miller, chief of staff at Lewisville ISD, noted during the meeting that parents had been citing challenges coping with the number of half days included in the current academic calendar, according to Community Impact. They either had to disrupt their work schedules or make arrangements for childcare.
Meanwhile, the district’s teaching staff had also voiced concerns over having enough time to plan their classes and take part in professional training sessions.
Stakeholders will have until November 30 to select the calendar option that works best for them by ranking the three proposals. The results will help guide the board’s final decision on the academic calendar for next term on December 11.
Plano ISD
At Plano ISD, the board of trustees is considering four draft calendar options for the 2024-2025 academic year. Each was considered in relation to neighboring districts’ calendars and coordinated with Collin College’s spring and fall breaks to cater to students taking dual credits.
The four proposals, referred to as drafts A, A2, B, and B2, have the same start date of August 14, 2024. All except A2 — which ends on May 28, 2025 — end the term on May 23, 2025.
A and A2 allocate 81 instructional days for the first semester and 91 for the second, while B and B2 allot 82 instructional days for the first semester and 90 for the second.
The differences between A and A2 versus B and B2 are marginal, with each allocating staff days/student holidays and staff-student holidays during fall break a bit differently. A2 emerged as a favorite in a survey taken among stakeholders because it has the longest fall break for both students and staff, as Lesley Range-Stanton, Plano ISD’s chief communications officer, noted at a meeting on November 8, according to Community Impact.
That being said, the survey, which fielded over 2,500 responses from the community, showed a large majority — 73% — expressing overall satisfaction with the original 2022-2023 calendar. The greatest point of contention emerged over whether to end the school year before or after Memorial Day, with 46.01% opting for before, 46.5% for after, and the rest having no preference.
Plano ISD’s board of trustees is set to finalize the calendar in its upcoming November 28 or December 12 meeting.