The Nashua Board of Education approved a 2022-2023 school-year calendar, notable because early release days have been eliminated during the school year, at the Monday, March 28 meeting.

For decades, school administrators in Nashua scheduled early release days to allow teaching staff to attend workshops and school meetings in the afternoon by dismissing students two-hours early. Typically, the school district scheduled between five to six early release days on Wednesdays over the course of the entire school year. Instead, for the upcoming school year, administrators will plan for full-day workshops and school meetings for teachers on September 13, primary day; November 8, election day; and February 20, Presidents Day, when students are not in school.

According to Garth McKinney, Superintendent of Schools, the changes in the school year calendar were needed:

· Early release days – The enclosed proposed calendar eliminates early release days. Previous calendars had approximately 5-6 early release days per school year.

· Additional In-service day – One additional In-Service Day was added to this proposed calendar along with the traditional In-Service Days in November and February.

· CTE calendar alignment – In working together with area CTE centers and districts, we have reduced the number of days of conflict between districts. There is current legislation under consideration that would require calendar alignment beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

· Increased instructional hours – The proposed calendar increases the total amount of instructional time by 14 hours along with more full and complete weeks of schooling.

Prior to presenting the proposed calendar to the Board, Dr. McKinney reviewed the possible changes with his leadership team and shared it with the Nashua Teachers’ Union.

The Nashua Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve the calendar for the new school year.

Schools will open for the new school year on Tuesday, August 30, 2022.