On October 19, the Academic Calendar Task Force (ACTF) presented its recommendation to School Committee on the inclusion of religious and cultural holidays in the academic calendar starting in 2025-26. The School Committee is scheduled to deliberate during its next two meetings and vote on the recommendation at its Nov. 19 meeting.
On Oct. 24, the task force voted 14-4 to recommend an option that retains Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as holidays; adds Lunar New Year and either Eid Al-Fitr or Eid Al-Adha, depending on the year; and removes Good Friday and Diwali. Other options that were considered during the task force’s final meeting included a three-holiday calendar model that rotates holidays from year to year, and a model that retains all six holidays every year.
All the calendar models considered and the work of the task force is summarized in the presentation that was shared with the School Committee as well as this report. The meeting was recorded by Wellesley Media (presentation begins at the 47:15 mark).
Rationale for the Recommended Model
A majority of task force members opted for striking a balance between the large number of community members who asked for no religious and cultural holidays, and those citing the extreme importance of observing certain religious holidays with a no-school day.
The recommended model has a similar number of non-mandated school holidays as the “legacy calendar” that was in place for more than 25 years, which included Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Good Friday as no-school days. With some holidays falling on weekends, the recommended model would add no more than three days a year as no-school days, at least through 2040.
Considerations of the task force included:
- Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Christmas Eve would never be school days under any circumstances, making a calendar that recognizes only Federal/State holidays seem less balanced to the task force;
- Survey results indicated less consensus around the need for a no-school holiday for Good Friday, especially among parents/caregivers and teachers/staff;
- The task force recognized the value of keeping both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as no-school days given the consensus around the importance of missing school to observe the holiday; concerns about the rise of antisemitism, and the long-term partnership and parking agreements with Temple Beth Elohim;
- The task force recognized the growing population of community members observing Lunar New Year;
- The task force recognized the growing population observing the Eid holidays, acknowledgement of current climate, and consensus around importance within that community of missing school to observe the holiday;
- The task force considered the smaller population and less consensus on importance for Diwali as a no-school holiday;
- The task force noted a strong desire to end school before Juneteenth to avoid extending the year further into June; and
- The task force noted that more than three additional religious/cultural holidays as no-school days increases concerns around continuity and childcare beyond what was traditionally reflected in the “legacy calendar”.
Opportunities for further feedback
The School Committee will continue to accept feedback at school_committee@wellesleyps.org. Public comment opportunities will be available at the Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 meetings, which will be held on Zoom.
The task force endeavored to fulfill its charge by gathering significant amounts of comparative data as well as input from the community and by formulating a set of recommendations, and to do so in as transparent a way as possible. We certainly recognize the complexity of the decision facing the School Committee in selecting an Academic Calendar model. At the same time, we know how much the community values ensuring that every member feels a sense of belonging, so believe that raising awareness and educating each other on the significance of religious and cultural observances is an important part of this process.
We look forward to further discussions and hearing from the community on this important yet challenging topic.
Linda Chow and Niki Ofenloch
ACTF Leaders and School Committee Members