Manatee School Board sets calendars for next 2 years. See when holiday breaks are
The Manatee County School Board has approved important dates, including the start of classes and holiday breaks, for the next two school years.
While nearly five months remain in the current school year, families can now review the academic calendars for 2022-23 and 2023-24, giving parents, students and educators a head start on their plans for the upcoming school year.
“We understand there are strong opinions among everyone about the calendar because it affects all of our lives,” Deputy Superintendent Daniel Evans said during a School Board workshop on Oct. 29. “It also affects the academic performance of our kids. There’s so much that rides on making a really good, sound calendar.”
A school district committee — including a parent, a representative from the teachers union and several principals — met throughout October, drafting the calendars and considering their limitations.
Florida statute dictates that public schools can open no earlier than Aug. 10, unless the schools are in an A-rated district (the School District of Manatee County is currently at a B rating). And it’s considered a best practice in some school districts, including Manatee County, to end the first semester before winter break.
Florida law also requires students to complete a certain number of school days each semester.
That leaves schools with a limited time frame to finish required school days between the start of classes on Aug. 10 and the end of the semester in December, just before winter break. It also leaves district leaders with limited flexibility as they work to schedule holiday breaks each year.
Parents and educators may feel a holiday starts too late or ends too early, said Pat Barber, president of the local teachers union, Manatee Education Association.
But the school district and the union, she said, arrived at the best calendar options for 2022-23 and 2023-24, considering all of the constraints they faced.
The school board voted unanimously to approve those calendars on Dec. 14.
“The calendars that you have before you are the result of a lot of compromise, and we addressed a majority of the issues,” Barber said, addressing the School Board.
Upcoming 2022-23 school year
Students will start classes on Aug. 10, the earliest that Manatee County schools can start by law.
Almost a month later, students and district employees will enjoy a short break on Monday, Sep. 5, when the district closes in observance of Labor Day, followed by another break on Friday, Oct. 7, when schools hold a record day and students have no classes.
In November, students and employees can look forward to a longer holiday, along with a handful of short breaks.
An early-release day is scheduled for Nov. 2, followed by district-wide closure for Veterans Day on Nov. 11 and the first week-long holiday of the semester, when schools close from Nov. 21-25 for Thanksgiving.
An even longer break — and perhaps the most anticipated — will take place at the end of 2022, directly after schools administer exams and bring the first semester to a close.
Middle and high school students are tentatively scheduled to take their exams between Dec. 14-22, which coincides with high school early-release days between Dec. 20-22.
The first semester is scheduled to officially end on Dec. 22, and on Friday, Dec. 23, winter break begins.
For educators, that break spans about two weeks before teachers return for a record day on Jan. 6, 2023, followed by a district in-service day on Jan. 9 and the return of students on Jan. 10.
The second semester will include several breaks on the following dates in 2023:
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16, shortly after winter break
- Presidents’ Day on Feb. 20
- Early-release day on March 1
- No school for students during the record day on March 10
- Spring break from March 13-17
- Good Friday on April 7
- Early-release days for all schools between May 24-26
- Memorial Day on May 29 (a break for employees, students will have already finished school)
Other important dates in the second semester include middle and high school exams, which are tentatively scheduled for May 19-26, and the early-release days for all schools, which are slated for May 24-26.
The last day of school for students is scheduled for May 26, 2023, followed by the last day for teachers on May 30.
Important dates for 2023-24
The Manatee County School Board not only approved the calendar for next school year, but also for the ensuing school year.
The calendar includes a host of important dates between August 2023 and May 2024:
- Aug. 10, 2023: first day for students
- Sep. 4: school district closed for Labor Day
- Oct. 13: record day, no school for students
- Nov. 1: early-release day
- Nov. 10: school district closed for Veterans Day
- Nov. 20-24: school district closed for the Thanksgiving holiday
- Dec. 13-21: tentative dates for middle and high school exams
- Dec. 19-21: high school early release
- Dec. 21: first semester ends
- Dec. 22 to Jan. 4: district closed for winter break
- Jan. 5, 2024: teachers return
- Jan. 9: students return
- Jan. 15: district closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Feb. 19: district closed for Presidents’ Day
- March 6: early-release day
- March 15: record day, no school for students
- March 25-29: all schools closed for spring break
- March 29: all district sites closed for Good Friday
- May 17-24: tentative dates for middle and high school exams
- May 22-24: early release for all schools
- May 24: last day for students
- May 27: all district sites closed for Memorial Day
- May 28, 2024: last day for teachers.