Hate ’em or love ’em, those pre-Labor Day starts to Chicago’s school year aren’t going away.
The Board of Education on Wednesday approved Chicago Public Schools’ new 2023-24 academic calendar, which resumes classes Aug. 21, a full two weeks before the September holiday.
This will be the third consecutive school year the district aligns itself with suburban schools and many colleges and universities that go back in August. CPS had long held out as one of the only districts to maintain a post-Labor Day start.
CPS CEO Pedro Martinez acknowledged at the school board meeting Wednesday that creating these schedules is “not easy because you’re trying to please many people.”
“We know how important calendars are and how they drive everything for both our staff and families,” he said.
Some parents have complained that the earlier start cuts into the end of the summer and some planned vacations.
CPS officials pointed out, however, that the earlier start also means kids leave for summer break sooner and have a better chance to participate in summer camps, jobs and other opportunities that start earlier in the summer.
Students will again have the whole week of Thanksgiving off this year, and the first semester of the school year will end before a two-week winter break — which begins Friday, Dec. 22 — to start high school classes fresh in the new year.
The first quarter professional development day will also shift to the day before report-card pickup to make October classes less stop-and-start. And parent-teacher conference days for high school and elementary students will be combined in the fall but separate, on consecutive days, in the spring of 2024. The district took public comment into consideration in making those adjustments, officials said.
The school year will end June 6.
