Winter break is getting a little longer for students in Maryland’s Montgomery County.
The new calendar for Montgomery County Public Schools for the 2023-2024 school year includes an 11-day winter break, which is one day longer than the current calendar, and five early release days, which is three fewer.
The school year will consist of 182 school days, including six contingency days, starting on Aug. 28 and ending on June 13.
“We spent a lot of time talking about our students, where they are, and all the things we have to do to support them,” said MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight. “Since the pandemic, we’ve had so many conversations about how we have to look at things differently and in a very innovative way.”
She said there’s an emphasis on maximizing uninterrupted learning time with three days for Thanksgiving and a week for spring break in April.
“When it comes down to our children and how we have to serve them, we have so many things that are priorities,” McKnight said during a board meeting on Tuesday.
Following an October board meeting, a survey was released to the public to get their feedback on the hypothetical calendar scenarios in order to see what works best for the most families.
The board adopted results of the survey Tuesday.
