HOUSTON – April 19, 2017 – The Spring Independent School District has launched a 2017-18 Instructional Calendar Survey online and is asking parents/guardians and employees to select the calendar they prefer out of two options that are available.

There are notable differences between the two options. Option A has Aug. 17 as the first day of school, while Option B would start on Aug. 16. Both options have several staff development days embedded in the school year, seven for Option A and six for Option B. One variation is a Saturday staff development day, which allows the district to provide a mid-year, two-day teacher institute while staying within teachers’ contracted days. Finally, the last day of school for students in Option A would be after Memorial Day on May 31, while Option B has students getting out of school before Memorial Day on May 25.

The Spring ISD Advisory Committee on Education (ACE), which includes both staff and community members, reviewed and recommended the final calendar proposals. Both Spring ISD calendar options use state guidelines that require school districts to provide at least 75,600 minutes of instruction. The two proposals exceed the instructional minutes required by the state by 960 minutes. Additionally, the district was recently designated as a District of Innovation, and its local innovation plan was approved on April 11. This designation allows for flexibility in choosing an earlier start date for the school year.

The 2017-18 Instructional Calendar Survey is located on the Spring ISD website at www.springisd.org/calsurvey. The deadline for participating is Monday, May 1.

The survey results along with a calendar recommendation will be presented to the Spring ISD Board of Trustees for approval at the Board Work Session on May 5.