Letter from Branford Superintendent of Schools, Hamlet Hernandez

Every year the Board of Education adopts a school calendar. Typically, the administration engages in a process to create different calendars for the Board to consider. After considering different calendars, the Board approves a calendar which is then disseminated via the District’s website. Often adopted calendars differ year to year by when school starts and ends, professional development days, vacation or breaks and discretionary days off. Because Branford’s school calendar differs slightly year to year, and other district’s calendar also differ from year to year families find it challenging to do long range planning.

Starting with the 2015 - 2016 school year, every school district in the State will need to include certain common requirements for holidays and vacation periods in their school calendar. This new legislative mandate is commonly referred to as the Common Calendar. The intention of this legislative mandate was to increase the ability of districts to share and coordinate services. For example, today more than ever, parents and students may opt to participate in the school magnet program or other school choice programs. Participation in these programs often requires students to be transported. By having a common calendar transportation services are more easily coordinated. From a practical point of view, parents and guardians potentially have one less “refrigerator calendar” to juggle.

The idea of a common calendar is not new. For the past few years, District’s had the opportunity to voluntarily adopt a school calendar which conforms to the recommendations of the State’s Task Force on the Uniform Calendar. After a few years of “test-driving”, the final guidelines are listed below and will go in to effect next year. It is important to note that over the past few years, Branford has been ahead of the curve and has already aligned its school year to meet the guidelines of the State mandate.

CALENDAR ITEM GUIDELINES

START DATE: Last Wednesday in August (with + or - 3 days)

LABOR DAY: Holiday

COLUMBUS DAY: Holiday

ELECTION DAY: No School Student Holiday/Regional PD

VETERANS DAY: School in Session

THANKSGIVING/ FRIDAY AFTER: Holiday - No School

DECEMBER HOLIDAY: December 24 - January 1 If Christmas falls on Wednesday, no school on Monday the 23rd. If New Year’s Day falls on Thursday no school on Friday, January 2nd.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR DAY: Holiday

FEBRUARY: President day - Holiday for all Tuesday following - Regional PD

SPRING BREAK: Second full week of April following a 5 day week, Monday - Friday as week 1

GOOD FRIDAY: School Day (Could use one of District’s Flex Days)

MEMORIAL DAY: Holiday

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: District Decisions; minimum of 180 student school days

In the upcoming months the Board of Education will develop and adopt the 2015-2016 school calendar and potentially the 2016-2017 school year calendar. With new calendar guidelines, parents, guardians, students, staff and the community will be able to plan with a greater degree of certainty; however as Mother Nature has taught Branford in recent years, she often holds the trump card when it comes to scheduling.

Image via Shutterstock

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