The final calendar for next year was approved by the school board at their Feb. 17 meeting. It has the school year beginning on Aug. 19 and ending on May 27.

Other notable dates include Thanksgiving break from Nov. 23-27, winter break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, spring break from Mar. 15-19, and bad weather makeup days on Apr. 16 and May 17. There will also be days off on Sept. 7 (Labor Day), Oct. 12 (Columbus Day), Oct. 13 (teacher work day, student holiday), Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), Feb. 15 (teacher work day, student holiday), Mar. 5 (teacher work day, student holiday) and Apr. 2 (teacher work day, student holiday).

STAAR testing will take place Dec. 8-11, Apr. 6-9 and May 4-7 and 11-14. The first semester begins Aug. 19 and ends on an early release day Dec. 18, and the second semester begins Jan. 6 and ends on an early release day May 27.

The daily schedule will be the same, with school beginning at 8:40 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. The district will also return to the 4 9-week grading periods after a successful first year.

The process to decide on this calendar was long, and included feedback from parents, staff and community members in December. The final calendar was designed by the District-Wide Effectiveness Improvement Committee (DWEIC), who used the feedback to create a calendar in time for the Jan. 21 board meeting at which it was first presented.