Chicago Public Schools Posts Proposed 2023-24 Academic Calendar for Feedback Over Next Week

CHICAGO –  Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is putting forth a proposed School Year 2023-24 academic calendar, now posted on the District Policies & Rules website page for public feedback over the next week. Following a seven-day public comment period, a final draft SY24 calendar is slated to go before the Board of Education at the Wednesday, February 22 meeting.  The proposed School Year 2024 calendar is similar to the current SY 23 calendar which offers the following benefits:

• Aligns closely with the academic calendars of suburban school districts and local colleges and universities
• Gives students a start date before Labor Day
• Allows more students to participate in summer camps as well as  jo and recreational opportunities that start earlier in the summer.
• Gives students more time to prepare for important exams, including Advanced Placement (AP)  and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests and the SAT

“Overall, our CPS community liked our current School Year 2023 calendar which focused on providing consistency and fewer student learning interruptions,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “That said, we want to continually improve and consider any additional feedback before taking next school year’s calendar to our Board for approval and adoption.”

Wednesday’s posted draft calendar follows District engagement with staff, family members, and students to develop the draft calendar. Parents and staff members can provide feedback on the District’s website at this link between 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 and 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25. 

Any final approved calendar will be shared with staff and families following the Board’s action in February. The recommended District calendar highlights include: 

• A school start date of Monday, August 21, 2023 and an end date of Thursday, June 6, 2024
• The first semester ends Thursday, Dec. 21, with Friday, Dec. 22 serving as the first day of Winter Break for students
• 176 days of instruction for students
• 12 professional learning days for teachers and school-based staff (consistent with current school year)
• A shift in first quarter Professional Development (PD) to occur the day before report card pick up to allow for more consistent weeks in October
• Combined parent-teacher conference day for both high school (HS) and elementary school (ES) students in the fall of 2023 and separate, on consecutive days, in the spring of 2024 (ES 4/10 and HS 4/11)
• Two weeks of winter vacation and one week of spring vacation (second half of March)
• No student instruction for the week of Thanksgiving
• Veterans Day as an observed holiday for School Year 2023-24. During the years with November federal elections, the District removes the Veterans Day holiday and observes election day as mandated under State law

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About Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools serves more than 322,000 students in 635 schools. It is the nation’s fourth-largest school district.