Prince William County Public Schools

During the Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, meeting, Prince William County School Board members will hear a presentation on the 2021-22 school calendar. The presentation will include background information on the development of calendar proposals, as well as poll results from parents, staff members, and students regarding the two calendar proposals.

Because one of the proposed calendar options includes the addition of some religious holidays as official school holidays, there has been some misunderstanding and concern in the community regarding the designation of various holidays on the official school calendar. Please keep in mind that the official calendar approved by the School Board does not and will not denote any religious holidays, both existing or proposed, by name. Once the 2021-22 school calendar is approved by the School Board and published, it will simply list School Division holidays as "School Holiday - Schools and Offices Closed".

The "Annual School Guide and Calendar", which includes student artwork, general School Division information, and dates of several School Division events, lists many religious holidays (some that are school holidays, and others that are not). The School Board is scheduled to vote on the 2021-22 school calendar on November 4.

View the presentation (PDF). Patrons may watch the School Board meeting at pwcstv.com and clicking on the "Watch Live" link, or by watching Comcast Channel 18 or Verizon FIOS Channel 36.

Please share your input for the 2021-22 school calendar

October 8, 2020

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is interested in gathering feedback from parents and community members about options for the 2021-22 school calendar. We have developed a quick poll that provides you with the opportunity to share your input.

As background, it is important to share some of the parameters around the development of the calendar. First, the calendar must begin with at least 180 school days. The year is divided into four relatively equal marking periods. Attempts are made to minimize weeks with only a few days of school when possible. We provide for multiple student holidays within the calendar, along with Winter Break and Spring Break.

Two calendar options have been developed in response to decisions made by the Prince William County School Board for the 2021-22 school calendar and feedback on previous calendars. One option is very similar to the calendar originally approved for 2020-21, and the other incorporates additional holidays that reflect the diversity of the PWCS community. Any time an additional student holiday is placed into the calendar, that instructional day must be replaced somewhere else in the calendar. As a result, both options start and end on the same dates, but there are differences within the calendars relative to Winter Break and the Monday after Spring Break.

Calendar options will be presented to the School Board for discussion and approval in October. Results from this poll, as well as recommendations from a representative calendar committee, will be provided to the Board to inform their discussion and decision.

Please take a few moments to answer these few questions about your preferences. (This poll closed on October 15, 2020.)