Philadelphia School District board adopts 2022-23 calendar with high school start times moving later

The Philadelphia School District’s calendar for 2022-23 has been set, with another pre-Labor Day start and four half days added to give teachers additional training.

Teachers’ first day is Aug. 23, and students will return Aug. 29, according to the calendar adopted Thursday night by the school board.

Students will finish the school year June 13, and teachers, June 14. (If inclement weather forces the district to close schools and an extra day of instruction is needed, those dates could move to June 14 for pupils and June 15 for staff.)

The last day of school before winter break will be Dec. 23. Students and staff will be off Dec. 26 through Jan. 2, with staff returning to school Jan. 3 and students, Jan. 4. Spring break will be April 3 through 7.

Overall, there will be 181 instructional days for students and 188 days of work for teachers.

The calendar adds four Friday half days for teacher training, for 10 in all. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said the time was needed to advance teachers’ practice, with an eye toward improved student outcomes across the district.

Feedback on the calendar was sought from parents, though some say they railed against the increased half days to no avail.

Board member Mallory Fix Lopez said she understood the calendar as an educator and as someone who leads professional development, but that as a district parent, “it makes me very uncomfortable.” She has resources and enough job flexibility to adjust her schedule or secure childcare to cover half days, Fix Lopez said, but many parents do not.

District and board officials said they understood the changes would mean hardship for some families, but vowed to work with outside providers to offer families childcare solutions. With that promise, Fix Lopez voted yes on the calendar, and the resolution passed, 8-0.

The calendar has been a controversial topic in the past. In September, weeks into the school year, the district added some half days for the 2021-22 term, though not as many as the academic department initially wanted.

» READ MORE: Philly is moving start times later for high schools. It’s good for academics, but there may be unintended consequences.

The board also heard about changes to school schedules coming in the fall.

High schools will move to a 9 a.m. start time, ending their days at 4:04 p.m. Many educators said the new schedule will hurt students who work after-school jobs and families who rely on that income, and also create problems for sports, with some parents unwilling to have their children coming home later at night.

Community meetings to discuss the changes are planned for later this month.

Hite said the high school start time changes were planned but not definite; the teachers’ union contract specifies school schedules must be firmed up by May.

Yet a letter from the central office sent to families last week suggested the shift was set, and that the community meetings were being held “to inform stakeholders of the bell schedule adjustments and collect input about the support families will need for the 22-23 SY.”