School calendars, committee work and FAQs
2021-22 school year
Religious and multi-cultural calendars
- Religious holiday dates - 2021-22
- Multi-cultural calendar of observances (Baha’i, Jewish and Islamic holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed.)
Future calendars
- 2022-23 school calendar (revised, approved by the Board of Education Jan. 25,2022 - see the news item here)
- 2023-24 school calendar: A draft will be proposed to the Board of Education in October 2022.
Calendar survey key findings and results available
Calendar survey key findings
In December 2021, PSD circulated a survey about the district’s calendar to our community, including all parents/guardians, all staff, middle and high school students, and community members. The following are key findings from that survey.
- The PSD community has a strong interest in the school year calendar. We received 8,571 responses to the survey.
- Survey respondents across all respondent categories have a strong interest in maintaining a two week Winter Break and in having a five-day Fall Break.
- Survey respondents across all respondent categories have a strong interest in ending the school year in May.
- Respondents to the survey offered several suggestions for future calendars that they would like to see the district explore. These included:
- A year-round school calendar, with more breaks throughout the school year
- Instituting longer instructional days to allow for more breaks throughout the school year
- A four-day student week
- Considering how best to continue addressing ongoing heat concerns in classrooms
The Calendar Committee as well as the district will continue to consider these interests, using them to inform the development of future school year calendars.
Survey results:
Calendar update to the Board of Education Jan. 11, 2022
More information:
- View the Dec. 14, 2021 calendar update to the Board of Education
- Read the Dec. 1, 2021 survey announcement news item
PSD Calendar Committee
The Calendar Committee includes representatives from schools, teachers, classified staff and parents. Those interested in serving on the Calendar Committee are welcome to contact Co-Chairs Alicia Bono and Melanie Mierzwa for more information. This committee wants to be as inclusive as possible and consider the many perspectives in our PSD communities. Members of the 2021-22 committee:
- Alicia Bono (committee co-chair, aliciab@psdschools.org ) - district employee (admin) and parent
- Melanie Mierzwa (committee co-chair, mmierzwa@psdschools.org) - district employee (admin) and parent
- John Robinson – Poudre Education Association president
- Stephanie Coleman - district employee (licensed/teaching)
- Joni Baker – Association of Classified Employees president
- Natasha Michaud – district employee (Information Technology) and parent
- Stephen Clarke – District Advisory Board representative and parent
- Ryan Bishop - district employee (licensed teaching)
- Jennifer Needham - district employee (Human Resources) and parent
- Matt Bryant – PSD Executive Director of Operations
- Brett Larsen (liaison) - PSD Executive Director of Human Resources
Elements in the school calendar
Elements the committee incorporates into the calendar, as well as overall guidelines followed when creating a school calendar.
For elementary schools:
- 175 elementary student contact days
- 360 hours of student class time in the first semester (determines full-time student funding for PSD)
- 990 hours of student class time during the school year
- Three conference/exchange days (two in the fall, one in the spring - no students at school)
For secondary schools:
- 176 secondary student contact days
- 360 hours of student class time in the first semester (determines full-time student funding for PSD)
- 1080 hours of student class time during the school year
- Two conference/exchange days (one in the fall, one in the spring - no students at school)
- One transition day for sixth- and ninth-grade students only
For all schools:
- Six building work days (no students at school) designed for staff professional development, work on planning and implementation of building and district goals, on-site teacher work time
- Two teacher work days (no students at school) to assist in grading and reporting, class preparation, other tasks (usually the first Monday in January and the third Monday in May)
Calendar guidelines
The PSD Calendar Committee follows these guiding principles when creating the calendar:
- Start as late in the summer as possible to avoid heat
- Ending 1st semester before winter break, allowing for final exams before the break
- Maximize class time before state-mandated testing (March/April) and Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate testing (April/May)
- Adhere to Colorado State Statutes for meeting required class time
- Adhere to the PSD Employee Agreement
- Attempt to sensitively schedule school breaks
- Align Spring Break with Colorado State University
- Logical holiday breaks for families
- Common Sense Clause – sometimes the simplest solution is the best
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have additional questions, please contact a calendar committee co-chairperson: Melanie Mierzwa (mmierzwa@psdschools.org or 970-488-7938) or Alicia Bono (aliciab@psdschools.org or 970-488-7402).
- What is the timeline for board adoption of the calendar? The PSD Board of Education adopts calendars 15 months in advance of implementation.
- Why does the first semester end before winter break? If the first semester went into January, more days would be included in first semester. One of the values we have for high school students is that it is better to complete course work and final exams before leaving for a two-week winter break. Until the committee sees a need to change this practice, first semester will be scheduled to end before winter break.