Approval of the School Year Calendar

Purpose

To support the Board of Trustees’ (Board) commitment to developing a school year calendar that respects diversity, commits to anti-racism, supports a sense of belonging for all students and prioritizes high-quality teaching and learning.

To outline the Board’s direction for the development of the school year calendar in accordance with collective agreement requirements, and applicable federal and provincial statutes and regulations, as may be amended from time to time.

Definitions

Board Approved Non-instructional Day refers to a day in the school year when teachers and students are not in schools.

Day of Significance is a day of spiritual, religious or cultural significance.

Lunar Calendar refers to a dating system that uses the cycle of the moon to measure the passage of time throughout the year. For example, this calendar is used to determine the dates for the holy month of Ramadan.

Lunisolar Calendar refers to a dating system that uses the position of the sun and the phases of the moon to measure the passage of time throughout the year. For example, this calendar is used to determine the date for the Chinese New Year.

Multi-faith Calendar is the Division-created calendar intended to support the recognition of faith-based days of significance. This calendar is shared by the Division annually as a planning and information tool.

Operational Day refers to a day when teachers have duties assigned by the Board. Operational days include instructional days (when students receive instruction) and non-instructional days (when students are not receiving instruction). The school year typically begins with an operational day and ends with an operational day.

Professional Development Days (also known as Professional Learning Days), for the purpose of this policy and the establishment of the school year calendar, are non-instructional days where Division staff collaborate, learn new skills and strategies and connect with specialists and community partners about ways to improve their practice and enhance their knowledge, in support of student learning. Students are not in school on these days.

School Year Calendar is the Board-approved calendar that is used by the majority of Division schools.

Teachers’ Days-in-Lieu are Board approved non-instructional days provided in recognition of time involved for parent-teacher interviews. Teachers and students are not in school on these days.

Policy

The Board believes it is important that the school year calendar supports a high quality education system, enhances pathways to student success and supports an inclusive and welcoming environment. When staff, students and families can see themselves reflected in the school year calendar, their sense of belonging, inclusion, well-being, and ultimately their growth, is supported. These values are supported through the scheduling of operational days, professional development days, Board-approved non-instructional days and teachers’ days-in-lieu.

The Board recognizes that respect for diverse days of significance enriches the learning and working environments and is important to the sense of belonging, inclusion and well-being of staff and students. As such, the Board prioritizes alignment with diverse days of significance to be the Division’s primary consideration in the scheduling of the school year calendar’s breaks for students, before the consideration of additional preferences for the placement of breaks (such as, but not limited to, the grouping of days to create long breaks or the avoidance of mid-week breaks). The Board expects that all decisions related to the scheduling of the school year calendar are made in accordance with collective agreement requirements, and applicable federal and provincial statutes and regulations.

The Board expects that the Division will use available data, which includes feedback from students and families, to inform the selection of days of significance to be included in each school year calendar, with the recognition that:

1. Some days of significance follow the Lunar calendar or Lunisolar calendar and do not occur on the same date every year (i.e., occur on floating dates); therefore, the ability of the Division to include days of significance in the school year calendar may vary each year.
2. There will be times when breaks cannot be scheduled on days of significance because of collective agreement requirements, and applicable federal and provincial statutes and regulations that must be adhered to by the Division.

Requirements that must be adhered to by the Division include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The Education Act, which directs the legal requirements that must be adhered to by all schools in Alberta.
2. The Guide to Education, which communicates requirements for instructional hours, as mandated by the Minister of Education.
3. General Information Bulletins, which communicate requirements for, and the scheduling of, diploma examinations, provincial achievement tests and provincial student learning assessments.
4. The Funding Manual, which determines the expectations and timelines guiding school funding.
5. The Employment Standards Code of Alberta, which outlines the general holidays that must be provided to employees.
6. Collective Agreements for teachers, support staff, custodial staff and maintenance staff, which direct the terms and conditions of employment.
7. Terms and Conditions of Employment, which communicate conditions of employment for exempt staff.

The Division will continue to use a range of methods to support the recognition of diverse days of significance for staff and students, including, but not limited to, the use of the Multi-faith Calendar to guide the setting of classroom assessment dates or assignments and the identification and planning of educational opportunities, events and activities across the Division.

Expectations

The Board recognizes that the school year calendar impacts students, families and staff and believes that a consistent calendar allows the majority of the Division’s students to start and end the school year and to be dismissed for breaks on the same dates. It is the Board’s expectation that administration bring the school year calendar forward for approval in a timely manner, recognizing the value of sharing an approved calendar as soon as possible.

Each year, by no later than December 15, the Board will approve a school year calendar for the following school year.  The approved calendar will be shared with parents, students, staff and community.

The calendar would only be revised if requirements set outside of the Division’s control change (for example, changes to Alberta Provincial Achievement Test and Diploma examination dates).

Should circumstances arise at a school where the approved calendar does not meet the school's needs, the Superintendent of Schools is given the authority to modify the school calendar for that school on an annual basis.

Accountability

The Superintendent will be responsible for implementing this policy through appropriate administrative regulations and communication with Division stakeholders, including staff, students and parents/guardians. 

References