For Immediate Release Contact: Johnny Little 314/345-2283

St. Louis Board of Education Adopts 2005-2006 School Year Calendar

(February 11, 2005) – At its Tuesday, February 8 meeting, the St. Louis Board of Education adopted the 2005-2006 school year calendar. In the calendar, there are 174 instructional days, 2 parent conference days, and 8 professional development days. Staff will return to work on August 15, 2005 for a full week of professional development and classroom development. The first day of school is August 22, 2005. This early start is an example that the Board of Education is committed to academic achievement and fiscal accountability. Starting the school year earlier will allow the district to administer first-semester exams before the Christmas break, rather than afterward.

The new schedule also allows parents to attend parent-teacher conferences for two days, as opposed to a single day in prior years. “District officials have worked very hard over the last year to listen to parents and to hear their concerns,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Pamela Randall Hughes. “This is just an example of how we want to accommodate busy parents to ensure academic achievement for our students.”

The calendar includes school holidays for Labor Day (Monday, September 5, 2005), Veterans’ Day (November 11, 2005), Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday (Monday, January 16, 2006), Presidents’ Day (February 20, 2006), and Memorial Day (May 29, 2006). Schools will also be closed Thursday, November 24 through Friday, November 25, 2005 for Thanksgiving break; Thursday December 22, 2005 through January 3, 2006; for winter break; and Monday, March 20, through Friday, March 24, for spring break.

As part of the 2005-2006 calendar there are 8 professional development days:

• October 10 is a Professional Development day. ( No half-days are included)
• November 4 is a professional development day.
• November 10 is a parent conference day with no students. Proposed is that conferences will be held for 3 hours after the regular school day on November 9, and 3 hours on the morning of November 10, allowing two consecutive sessions so that parents with multiple children can attend multiple locations. Faculties will be released for the afternoon of November 10, giving a ½ day early start on their weekend.
• February 17 is a professional development day.
• March 17 is a parent conference day (under the same format as November 19.
• Last class day is May 25, 2006.

View the complete St. Louis Public School 2005-2006 calendar on the St. Louis Public Schools Website www.slps.org. Printed copies of the calendar are also available on the website.