T-R file photo The calendar for the 2021-22 school year has been approved with inclusion a spring break.

A calendar for Marshalltown Community School District’s 2021-22 school year has been approved, including the incorporation of a spring break.

Closely mirroring the calendar of the 2020-21 school year, the calendar for next year includes 190 teacher contracted days with 177 days being student contact days. Parent-teacher conferences are included in the 177 student contact days and 11 of the 190 teacher contracted days include professional development or teacher workdays with another two days allocated for teacher compensation days.

The first day of school would be Aug. 24, and the last day of school would be June 1 barring no cancellations for inclement weather.

The newly added spring break takes place from March 14 to March 18 in 2022, and has been a topic of debate among the Marshalltown Community School Board.

Superintendent Theron Schutte said when a draft of the 2021 to 2022 calendar was proposed, the board weighed both the interests of those wanting a spring break and those who don’t.

“When we presented the calendar options last year, we talked about accepting one that didn’t have a spring break, and of any year not to have spring break this year was a good one not to have that built-in,” Schutte said. “We said we would do an alternating thing where we incorporate spring break the next year so that for kids and families taking advantage of spring break time, at least every other year they would have that opportunity.”

The spring break period was planned to align during the same weeks University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa and Marshalltown Community College have spring break.

Without spring break, the school year would end before Memorial Day, but with spring break included the last day of school falls the day after Memorial Day as long as no cancellations for inclement weather occur.

Important dates for the 2021 to 2021 school calendar:

• First day of school: Aug. 24

• Last day of school: June 1 2022 (barring potential inclement weather days)

• Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 24 to Nov. 26

• Winter Break: Dec. 23, 2021 to Jan. 2, 2022

• Spring Break: March 14 to March 18, 2022

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Contact Trevor Babcock

at 641-753-6611 or

tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.