Chicago Public Schools Maintains 2021-22 Academic Calendar

CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced during the Board of Education’s meeting today (Wednesday) that the current posted School Year 2021-22 academic calendar will remain unchanged; the District will not tack-on additional days to the end of the school year in the wake of the January work stoppage that resulted in five canceled school days.  The final day of the school year is slated for Tuesday, June 14, 2022.  Additionally, the Board approved the 2022-23 academic calendar.

As the District reviewed this year’s calendar, CPS conducted 15 focus groups and polls with parents and principals regarding their preference for extending the current school year due to the five missed school days during CTU’s January work stoppage. The focus groups included parents of both elementary and high school students, as well as parents of diverse learners. More than a third of participating parents were bilingual. Additionally, 619 principals and assistant principals participated in a poll regarding the decision. Both parents participating in the focus groups and school leaders via the poll voiced their support to maintain the current school year calendar.

In addition to the parent and principal engagement required under the Agreement, Labor Relations and the District - through its Family and Community Engagement Office - also conducted focus groups with SEIU 73 and CTU.

District and school leaders will continue to consider ways to support students for the lost instructional time, including through current after-school programming in addition to plans for robust summer 2022 programming. The District shared last week that it will allocate $50 million for 2022 summer school programming to ensure that schools are able to offer both traditional academic support courses,  programs for students transitioning into kindergarten or freshman year of high school, and content-specific classes in early literacy, middle school math, algebra, and more, including sports camps.

The Board also approved the 2022-23 calendar that was outlined in Monday’s press release.  As outlined in the above-linked press release, the first day of student attendance will be Aug. 22, 2022 and the final student attendance day will be June 7, 2023.

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