Revised 2020-2021 School Year Calendar Approved (August 28, 2020)
As a result of the ongoing pandemic due to the coronavirus, and in order to return to school safely, we have made slight changes to next year’s calendar.
The easiest way to understand these changes is to know that outside of the federal holidays indicated below, every other day in our calendar will be a student contact day, giving teachers and students increased opportunities for instruction. A special thank you to the Ames Teacher’s Union for working collaboratively on these changes.
Start date – As already communicated, the official start date of school for students was moved to Tuesday, September 8, 2020. The previously approved calendar had staggered start dates, allowing for orientation days for 6th and 9th-grade students. All students will now begin on the first day of school across the District. Here is a snapshot of the start and end dates:
- First Day of Class for Students – Sept. 8
- Last Day of School for Students – June 10
- Last Day of School for Teachers – June 11
Return to Learn Conferences – The week of August 31 – September 4 has been reserved for virtual Return to Learn conferences. Teachers across the District will be reaching out and meeting virtually with parents to have conversations around what they can expect when school begins.
Other Dates to Highlight:
- November 25-27 – Thanksgiving Break
- December 21 – January 1 – Winter Break – resume January 4.
- January 18 – MLK Day (no school)
- March 15-19 – Spring break
Professional Development
In order to maximize contact hours with students, District-wide professional development days have been taken off of the calendar. At the elementary level, Wednesdays will not be early out days, but full days.
Petition for Judicial Review Impact on Instructional Hours
Adjustments to this calendar have allowed the District to meet the 1,080 instructional hours as presented. As we previously communicated, we have filed a petition for judicial review to seek clarity from the court. Regardless of whether the “phased-in” hybrid model instructional hours count in the month of September, we will be able to reach the appropriate amount by June 10, 2021.
Senior Last Day / Commencement
The Senior Class of 2021 will have to wait a little longer to know when their last day is. If the court rules that the instructional hours do not count, their last day will be the same as other students: June 10, 2021. If the court rules in favor of the instructional hours counting, their last day would be June 3, 2021.
We have posted a District at-a-glance calendar in PDF form on our website that can be downloaded and printed at the URL below.