At its regularly scheduled meeting October 24, 2019, the Littleton Public Schools Board of Education approved school year calendars for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. Both calendars continue to reflect the Board’s values around school year calendars, which have been shaped by the community over time.  

Both proposed calendars were brought by the district Calendar Committee to the Board for consideration at the October 10, 2019 Board of Education meeting. The Calendar Committee includes a cross-section of parents and LPS employees.

As part of its process, the Calendar Committee reviewed the Board of Education’s calendar values as well as the current and previous years’ calendars. The Committee considered the requirements for instructional minutes as well as the schedule for state testing, both of which are established by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The Committee also considered the schedule for Advanced Placement (AP) exams and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams in May, which are determined nationally. The Committee discussed implications for event schedules controlled by the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA). 

Key topics also included placement of an additional professional development day for staff, elementary school-age child care, the consistency of Professional Learning Communities being scheduled every Wednesday morning, and both general and specific parent and staff input.

The Committee noted that the Board’s value to end the first semester by winter break drives when the first day of school will be. The second semester is longer than the first semester to accommodate the days in the spring that are dedicated to taking state assessments. There is positive feedback for keeping a full week break at Thanksgiving. The proposed calendars exceed the CDE’s requirements for instructional time.

The 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school year calendars and the Board of Education’s Calendar Values are available on the district website: http://littletonpublicschools.net/calendars.