Hoover school officials consider options for 2016-17 and 2017-18 calendars

Hoover school officials are asking parents to consider two options for calendars for both the 2016-17 school year and 2017-18 school year.

They’re asking parents to vote in two separate surveys before the school board votes on the calendars.

Options for 2016-17 school year

For the 2016-17 school year, one of the calendars (Option A) would put the first day of school for students on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, while Option B would start school on Tuesday, Aug. 9.

Option A includes a full week for the Thanksgiving break, while Option B gives a three-day break for Thanksgiving (Wednesday through Friday). Option A would put spring break on March 27-31, while Option B provides a March 20-24 spring break.

Those appear to be the primary differences between the two 2016-17 calendars, but here are the complete Option A and Option B calendars for review.

Both calendars would end the first semester on Friday, Dec. 16, and have students return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 3, and let students out for two teacher professional development days on Feb. 20-21.

Both calendars also would let students out on Good Friday (April 14) and the Monday after Easter Sunday (April 17), unless those days are needed to as inclement weather makeup days. Other holidays included in both calendars are Labor Day (Sept. 5), Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) and Memorial Day (May 29).

The last day for students in both calendars is Wednesday, May 24. Spain Park High School’s graduation would be May 23, and Hoover High School’s graduation would be May 24.

School officials are asking parents to respond to a survey about the 2016-17 calendars but also invite parents to submit any comments to parentfeedback@hoover.k12.al.us. Voting in the 2016-17 survey will be open through Jan. 6, and the Hoover Board of Education is expected to vote on the 2016-17 calendar on Jan. 11, school system spokesman Jason Gaston said.

Options for 2017-18 school year

For the 2017-18 school year, Option A would have students start school on Aug. 8, 2017, while Option B would start school on Aug. 14.

Option A again includes a full week out of school for Thanksgiving (Nov. 20-24), while Option B allows three weekdays out of school (Nov. 22-24). Option A would end the first semester on Dec. 20, while Option B would end the semester on Dec. 22.

The rest of the proposed 2017-18 calendars are pretty much the same, including the same week of spring break for 2018 (March 26-30) and students out of school for Labor Day (Sept. 4), a teacher workday on Oct. 9, Veterans Day (Nov. 10), two professional development days for teachers on Feb 19-20, a teacher workday on April 23 and Memorial Day (May 28).

Both of the 2017-18 calendars also would end school on May 23, 2018, with Spain Park High’s graduation on May 22 and Hoover High’s graduation on May 23.

See the complete Option A and Option B calendars for 2017-18.

The survey for parents to choose between the two 2017-18 calendars will remain active through Jan. 15, Gaston said.

Superintendent Kathy Murphy wants to have both calendars approved soon, he said.

This article was updated at 12:45 a.m. on Dec. 31 to include information about the options for the 2017-18 school year.