The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a calendar for the 2023-24 school year during their meeting last week.

The district sent out surveys to stakeholders earlier this school year to see what changes they would like to see to the annual schedule. Chief Officer of Operations Lauren Richards says that the 398 survey responses received suggested changes such as starting the school year earlier, lengthening winter break, lining up spring break with Easter, and creating reserve days at the end of each nine-week period. After weighing these suggestions against requirements from the state, the district drafted a calendar that is largely the same as the 2022-23 calendar.

The first day of school for students will be Monday, Aug. 28. The last day is scheduled for Friday, June 7.

North Carolina has several rules for school scheduling that all districts must follow, including starting the school year no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26, ending no later than the Friday closest to June 11, allowing at least 10 annual leave days, and assigning no more than 185 instructional days or 1,025 instructional hours.
The 2023-24 calendar reflects the district’s best efforts to reconcile these protocols with the wishes of parents. The board will continue to advocate for improvements to policy while giving students and staff the best possible scheduling system to facilitate effective learning.

“We recognize that we can’t do a lot with this calendar, but we want to do some,” Board Member Sabrina Coone said.