At its next meeting the Dartmouth School Committee will decide the academic calendar for the 2025-26 school year after weighing several options Monday, Jan. 6.

Superintendent June Saba-Maguire presented three options for the schools calendar, which differ in vacation times. 

The first option would have students come in for Monday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 23, returning to school on Monday, Jan. 5. This would mean students’ last day of school, dependent on snow days, would take place before the Friday, June 19 holiday. 

The second option, suggested by School Committee member John Nunes, would be to keep option one, but to have Tuesday, Dec. 23 as a half day. 

The third option would give students both Dec. 22 and 23 off, granting two full weeks of vacation. However, this would push the end of the school year to Monday, June 22.

Hearing the desire for a longer December vacation from some community members and fears of disrupted routines from others, School Committee members decided to wait to make their decision. 

Saba-Maguire noted other school districts that have already posted their calendars have largely decided to keep kids in school for the start of the holiday week for several reasons, including to keep routine, make the transition back to school easier, protect summer vacation time and ensure students get the full 180 days of school. 

School Committee Chair Chris Oliver suggested the district also consider the date of the December parent-teacher conferences, which fall the week before the winter break, highlighting that parents have voiced difficulty in attending those meetings at that point in the season.