The Cambridge City School District Board of Education approved a revised student calendar at their most recent board of education meeting that implements a staggered start for first and second grade students.
For several years, the district has scheduled a staggered at each building so that students who are new to a building (kindergarteners at the Primary School, third graders at the Intermediate School, sixth graders at the Middle School and ninth graders at the High School) attended the first day of school without any older students in the building.
“We believe a staggered start, along with open houses, give students who are new to a building an opportunity to acclimate themselves on a day that is designed to help them get acquainted with administrators, teachers, aides, and procedures that are specific to each building,” Superintendent Dan Coffman said.
This year, the first and second grade students also are scheduled for a staggered start with first and second grade girls attending on Thursday, August 15, and first and second grade boys attending on Friday, August 16. This will allow teachers to more efficiently complete beginning of the year assessments.
“Our Primary School teachers brought this suggestion to the administration,” Coffman said. “A slight schedule change will make it easier to complete the assessments for both the teachers and the students. We welcome ideas and suggestions on how we can better support our employees who are working with our students every day.”
The revised schedule also adds professional development days on Thursday, October 17, and Thursday, November 7, when students will not be in school.
“The additional professional development time will allow us to meet new training requirements that have been released since the initial adoption of the master calendar,” Coffman said. “We want to have our students in the classroom as many days as possible, but we want to make sure our staff and teachers are providing the best possible education to our students even if that means we set aside a few days for training when the students are not in session.”
Two additional professional development days exclusively for Intermediate School staff members were added in May. This means the last day of school for CIS students will be Wednesday, May 14, 2025, while the last day for CPS, CMS, and CHS students (with the exception of graduating seniors) will be Friday, May 16, 2025. Graduation is set for Saturday, May 10, 2025.
A revised version of the student calendar has been added to our website at
www.cambridgecityschools.org and can be found under the “Families” and “Students” dropdown menus.