SPRINGFIELD, IL — A recent unanimous vote by the Springfield District 186 Board of Education added a day on to the winter holiday break.
But the Springfield Education Association President said the district’s calendar still doesn’t align with other districts in the area.
That’s because of a later start date by Springfield Public Schools, the subject of a separate vote last winter.
The winter holiday break for District 186 students, teachers and staff now begins when school lets out Dec. 22.
The tradeoff is that school will be in session on General Election Day, Nov. 3.
Schools were mandated to be off Election Day in 2024, said Superintendent Terrance Jordan, but had the option of taking it off for this year.
Most of the school districts immediately surrounding Springfield are in session Nov. 3, though Rochester is using it as a teachers workshop.
“When we released the calendar (initially) that was one of the big sticking points for some of our families and our teachers and staff, getting out the day before, for those who celebrate, Christmas Eve,” Jordan told The State Journal-Register last month.
The vote to add a day to the winter holiday break “was what we felt was best for the staff and for our students,” Jordan added.
Rochester schools are in session Dec. 23 but with an early release. Ball-Chatham, Williamsville-Sherman and Jacksonville school districts all start break after school lets out Dec. 18.
District 186 students return to school Jan. 5, with a teachers institute scheduled for Jan. 4.
Although the calendar edit “provides another day earlier for students, families and employees to potentially prep their homes, wrap presents and travel, unfortunately, the overall calendar selected by the school board–as opposed to the one recommended by the majority of the school employees–still does not align well with surrounding school districts,” contended SEA President Aaron Graves.
Graves added that it isn’t likely that there will be strong student attendance on December 21 and 22 for semester exams.
Starting school during the Illinois State Fair is the only way to strengthen attendance and balance out the first and second semesters, “but the desire/fear by the majority of the school board not ever to be in session during the fair make these realities unachievable.”
The school board turned away two advisory staff votes and stayed with tradition, opting to start the 2026-27 school year Aug. 24, the day after the Illinois State Fair ends. The staff votes favored starting the school year during the fair.
In voting for the plan March 9, school board members cited safety concerns for students and a loss of revenue streams for clubs and organizations from schools around the district who work at the State Fair.
Those safety concerns were echoed in a petition from parents and staff members from Ridgely Elementary School, which is located just a couple of blocks from the fairgrounds.
In a State Journal-Register poll, 55% of over 1,300 respondents favored starting school the day following the State Fair.
Some area schools started the school year as early as Aug. 13.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Why District 186 students will have class three days before Christmas
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
