Recently, the district announced several changes to next year’s calendar and bell schedule as a result of the latest contract with the teacher’s union. The biggest change is that the school year will now end earlier, on June 6th, rather than June 11th. However, for this to happen, many schools will need to extend their school day in order to meet the minimum requirements set by the state. Southwest will add five minutes to the school day, meaning school will now start at 8:30 and end at 3:10. Most schools will add ten minutes.

While the slightly extended day is not ideal, the district has been criticized for years for ending the year so late, and this change will have many benefits. In an email sent to families, the district said that this will allow for summer programs, activities, and jobs to start sooner for students. More time for construction projects and a reduced risk of extreme heat also played a role in the decision. This will also put MPS more in line with neighboring districts, which typically end the last week of May or the first week of June.

Several other smaller changes were announced as well. Teacher record-keeping day (no school for students) at the end of quarter one will be moved from November 1st to November 5th, which is Election Day. This change was made due to the large volume of people in schools that serve as polling places. Also, spring conferences (no school day) will be moved from February 18th to February 14th as a result of community feedback. Rosh Hashanah, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Yom Kippur will all remain no school days, in addition to MEA, Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks. The full 2024-2025 school year calendar can be found on the MPS website.