Spring break returning for Washington students

The Washington school board set the calendar for the 2021-22 school year at Wednesday night’s meeting.

Students return to school on Monday, Aug. 23, with the last day of school scheduled for May 24, 2022.

“The biggest change is that we are putting back in spring break,” Superintendent Willie Stone said. “It’s not a five-day spring break; it’s three days. So, you have the weekend and three days.”

The three-day spring break is from March 14-16, 2022.

Several early dismissals are scheduled, with two per month from September through December, one per month from January through March, three in April and two in May.

Stone said that there will be one more early dismissal scheduled in the fall for homecoming.

The state has not yet set the athletic districts, so school officials do not know the football schedule.

On Wednesday, Nov. 24, students will be dismissed early and not return to school until Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Winter break will begin with an early dismissal on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Students return to school on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.

There will be another short break in April, beginning with an early dismissal on Thursday, April 14, 2022. Students return on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

“As you know, especially this year, toward the end of March, it was really, really hard for students,” Stone told the school board. “They need to take a breath, and honestly, our staff needed to take a breath.

“We’ve tried to be more intentional with our breaks to make it so our students will be more successful. We tried to plan things around what will be best for our students.”

Jan. 17, 2022, is currently scheduled as an off day for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but that could change.

“If we have three snow days before Dec. 10, that day will end up being a school day,” Stone said.

In all, students will have 176 days of school (1,138 hours after the early out for homecoming is added), while staff will have 193 work days, with four holidays.

The state requirement for student hours is 1,080 hours.