Need help with 2007 K-12 academic calendar!

Summer vacation is nothing like so long as the one you've listed, unfortunately. Some school systems have whittled it down to a few weeks, in fact, because they're on a quarter system instead of semesters now. They get two-week breaks between every quarter (roughly--again, it depends on the school system). Typically, though, school now ends for the summer around mid to lateJune and begins again around early to mid-August. School years have to be a minimum of 185 days.

The other holidays you've listed are pretty accurate, although spring break tends to be very different from school system to school system. Some school systems tie spring break to the Easter holiday, but many others don't, so spring break can be a week anywhere between early March and late April. Adjacent school districts tend to stagger their spring breaks, too, so they aren't all out at the same time.

Many school systems now have a fall break that is generally in mid-October; sometimes it's just one or two days, but some school systems give everyone a week off.

Oh, and Christmas break is properly called winter break now, and school lets out long before Dec. 24--generally a week before depending on the school system. School usually starts up again right after New Year's.

Don't forget inservice days too, where kids are off for a day (usually Friday or Monday), but the teachers report for seminars or meetings. Many of the days kids are off, teachers have to report, incidentally, and the teacher's school year starts a week or two before kids start and ends a week or two after kids go home for the year.

I'm so glad I'm not teaching now....

Stressed said:

Hope someone might be able to help… while I know that state school districts tend to vary in their academic calendars, I’m trying to get some kind of ballpark dates for 2007. Here is what I have:

Jan 15 MLK Day
Feb 19 Presidents Day
Mar 26-30 Spring Break
May 22-Aug 20 Summer Vacation
Sept 3 Labor Day
Nov 21-23 Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 24-Jan 4 Christmas Break

I’d be so grateful if someone could let me know if they are OK to proceed on…

Thanks!

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Sorry to disillusion you, but school holidays are extremely variable depending on where in the country you live and whether the school is public or private. Some public schools also run on a year round schedule with roughly 3 one-month breaks.

Jan 15 MLK Day - This day is a school holiday most, but not all places

Feb 19 Presidents Day - often combined with the Friday before the Monday of Pres Day to make a long weekend.

Mar 26-30 Spring Break - The most variable holiday. Some schools put it in the middle of Spring term regardless of when Easter is. Others move it around so that it begins on Good Friday and runs through the week after Easter (April 8 in 2007) and some have it the week before Easter.

May 22-Aug 20 Summer Vacation depends on where in the country you live. My school district doesn't end school for the summer until mid-June. Many schools end around Memorial Day (May 28 in 2007). If school continues past Memorial Day, it is always a school holiday. Some school districts begin before Labor Day (the ones that begin summer vac in May.) Others, especially in the mid-Atlantic and New England, but also other places, begin the Tuesday or Wednesday after Labor Day. Some are schizophrenic like my district, sometimes starting in late August and sometimes right after Labor Day, depending on how early Labor Day comes in the month.

Sept 3 Labor Day Always a school holiday if school is already in session.

Nov 21-23 Thanksgiving Holiday In some districts studentshave the entire week off (Nov 19-23) and the early days of the week are used for parent-teacher conferences. Others get out early the day before Thanksgiving (Nov 21 in 2007) but don't have a full day holiday. Virtually all schools and many non-retail businesses are closed for Thanksgiving and the Friday after the holiday.

Dec 24-Jan 4 Christmas Break Usually begins earlier than this. Many districts will have Dec 21 off, as it is a Friday and people will take their kids out of school anyway to travel. Some will begin this holiday as early as Dec 19.

Other holidays celebrated by some districts and not others

Columbus Day - Oct 8 in 2007. celebrated as a school holiday in some districts particularly on the East Coast. Not a holiday in my district in California.

Election Day - second Tuesday in November

Veteran's Day - Nov 12 in 2007 - a commonly celebrated school holiday

Yom Kippur/Rosh Hoshanna - in heavily Jewish districts. Its a multi-day holiday in New York City schools, for example. Many districts schedule it as a teacher in-service day or a workshop day to accomodate Jewish parents without being overtly religious.

Teacher in-service days/State and National Education Association Days (vary by district, often changing year to year)

State holidays - for example Patriot's Day in Massachusetts. Mardi Gras in Louisiana was a school and work holiday when I lived there 25 years ago. Don't know if it still is. In some parts of California, Cesear Chavez's birthday is a school holiday. Religious schools usually are closed on significant religious holidays not observed by public schools.

In my district, the teachers' union gets a say in which holidays are observed. As a result, my district skips things like Columbus Day and Election Day and takes the entire week of Thanksgiving off. There is another school district nearby that has many immigrant children whose families traditionally return to Mexico for the month of December. Attendence was so poor in December that they now close early in December and extend the school year in June. I don't think you can make any assumptions about a national school calendar in the US.

Our school system recently took away most all holidays during the school year in favor of a really long summer break. Like the above poster said, schools vary so much there's not even a basic standard anymore. Which might be good news for you--it gives more freedom when you're writing.