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After seeking stakeholder input for the 2021-2022 Harris County School District (HCSD) school calendar, the HCSD has received approval from the Harris County Board of Education on a final version.

Between the two proposed calendars, the Option B calendar is the one that has been selected and approved. Of the two options provided, most of the respondents reported they selected Option B as it was more beneficial to have the extra time off at the beginning of the holiday break versus having the extra time at the end of the break.

“The District’s priority is to ensure the maximization of student learning by making data-driven decisions supported by educational research,” Dennie said.

School calendars are developed using the following criteria:

• 180 student days
• 10 professional learning days
• Observation of Federal holidays
• Spring Break aligned with Muscogee County
• Student days divided as evenly as possible by nine weeks/semester
• First Semester ends before holiday break due to HCHS’s block scheduling
• First day of school needs to be the second working day of the month or later
• Classes end prior to Memorial Day

Of note, there will be three teacher in-service days in January of 2022, which is more days than are normally scheduled. These extra days are needed to provide the teachers at Harris County Carver Middle School time to move into the new school building and be prepared to welcome students for the new semester.

“We appreciate everyone who took the time to complete the online form,” Dennie said. “While we know we can’t please everyone, we do our best to include as much stakeholder input as possible as that input helps us set direction.”