Friendswood ISD has received Board approval for their 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar.
The Friendswood ISD School Board unanimously chose Option C out of three options for the 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar for the district.
The calendar offered the staff returning date of August 7, 2023 with six professional learning days. The first day of school for students will be Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
The Fall Holiday begins with a parent/teacher conference or PSAT day followed by a professional learning/student holiday and exchange day/student holiday.
There are also two exchange days for professional learning completed off contract.
The district recommended Option C as the one for the Board to pass since it provided a fall holiday for students and started slightly later than Option B. In B the first day of school would be August 10. District administration liked the later start due to bond projects being completed.
Option C was the middle choice by staff (32 percent) and parents (33 percent). Option B had staff support of 44 percent with parents at 38 percent.
According to FISD, the  2023-2024 Instructional Calendar development process has many steps.
Information is first gathered through various Superintendent committees made up of teachers as well as parents. Then a staff committee is formed with representation from each campus as well as district staff. This committee reviews the guiding principles as well as state requirements and develops drafts for feedback.
The three drafts were first taken to all FISD staff, presented at the December School Board meeting and parents. Based on the feedback, the drafts were modified to include one additional day for the Winter Break and replaced with an exchange Professional Development day.
All three calendars provided for 172 days of instruction which includes enough minutes for two school closure days. All three had school ending the year by Memorial Day and had a parent/teacher conference/PSAT day where students are not at school.
The last day of school before the Christmas break for students is Thursday, December 21, 2023 and students return on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. All calendars have a day in April designated for professional learning and a day of service.
