PLANNING THE DAYS — The Hancock County Board of Education held the first of two required hearings Monday for its 2025-26 school calendar. A second hearing will be held Feb. 24, with the board set to vote on the calendar the same night. -- Craig Howell

NEW CUMBERLAND — Hancock County Schools has begun the process of planning its calendar for the 2025-26 school year.

The school board held the first of two required public hearings on the calendar Monday, prior to its regular board meeting, presenting a draft proposal for the next school year.

Kristin Bissett, director of federal programs, student services and assessment, noted the calendar is being presented a little earlier than in previous years to allow school district employees and local families plenty of notice.

“It allows everyone, once it’s finalized, to begin planning their vacations and everything,” Bissett said.

Surveys were sent out to school faculty and staff, as well as students and parents of the school district, according to Bissett, with 60% of the responses coming from school employees.

While officials explained they received several comments on the possibility of beginning the school year after Labor Day and finishing it before Memorial Day, this would result in reductions to some of the traditional breaks in order to meet the state-mandated 180 days of in-school learning for students.

“Anything you give, you’re taking away from somewhere else,” noted Superintendent Dan Enich.

Current plans would include teachers reporting on Aug. 18, with students beginning Aug. 22, with the final day for students on June 4 and teachers’ final day being June 5.

Erica Sauer, director of special programs/pre-K, noted there are 4.5 days of professional learning in the calendar, with two of them set to take place prior to students reporting for the start of the school year, and the rest held at varying points during the year.

“Given our winter this year, we tried to be more creative with our professional development days,” Sauer said.

Full days of professional learning would be Aug. 20-21, Nov. 24, and March 2, with a half day on Feb. 9.

Holidays would be observed on Sept. 1 for Labor Day, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving, Dec. 25 for Christmas, Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day, Jan. 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, May 12 for Election Day, and May 25 for Memorial Day.

A full week out of school for students is planned from Nov. 24-28 for Thanksgiving, with Christmas break scheduled to include a Faculty Senate Day Dec. 19, and students returning Jan. 5.

An Easter break is set for March 30 to April 6.

High school graduations would take place on May 28 for Oak Glen and May 29 for Weir.

A second hearing on the proposed calendar has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 24, with the board voting on the calendar during its regular meeting the same night. Both meetings will be held at the John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center.