The 2024-25 academic calendar was approved Monday by the Frisco ISD Board of Trustees at the December Board meeting. The calendar was developed by the District Advisory Council’s (DAC) Calendar Committee, which is made up of ten staff members and eight parents.

The committee spent four weeks putting together a calendar that meets the state requirements for instructional minutes with several new changes implemented for 2024-25. 

First, the first day of school will be Monday, Aug. 12, and the last day will be Wednesday, May 21. In addition, Bad Weather Make-Up Days were moved back to the end of the year on May 22 and 23. However, the biggest change is the addition of a fall break from Nov. 1-5. However, the addition of a fall break will not take away from Thanksgiving break, winter break, or spring break.

ESports teacher Mykaela Alfred looks forward to the break and thinks the time off will be beneficial for students and teachers.

“Honestly, it makes me happy,” Alfred said. “I was a little jealous because some of my old colleagues have a fall break, so now we get one. I think it’s good for the students; I think it’s good for the teachers. Before we come back, we can kind of focus in on our studies, and then we get Thanksgiving break right after, so I think the fall break is very beneficial, and I’m looking forward to it.”

While this break will give staff and students a much-needed break, the addition of this break means only having one day off after spring break up until the end of the school year, something that AP Economics teacher Scott Li has some concerns about.

“I think everybody’s going to have a good amount of rest [in the fall], but once it gets to the second semester, I think people will start to get burnt out,” Li said. “I teach seniors, so during the second semester, a lot of seniors want a break. Because they got rid of some four-day weekends, I’m just concerned or curious as to how the seniors specifically are going to respond.”

Before presenting the calendar at the board meeting, the committee showcased the proposed calendar at November’s DAC meeting. DAC member and junior Akul Ramesh found the new changes exciting.

“I think [the break is] actually really helpful for the students that are in FISD, and I think this will allow us to really take out another brain break,” Ramesh said. “When I first saw the proposed calendar, I was really excited about this change, and it allowed me to look forward to next school year.”

However, not all students share the same excitement as Ramesh. Students such as junior Melisa Gulver prefer more days off in the spring rather than two breaks in the fall.

“It’s nice to have another break, but I would rather have more four-day weekends in the spring than one big break,” Gulver said. “With the four-day weekends, I’ll have more time to destress. I feel like one week of break in November is already enough.”

Although junior Krish Pokle finds the break unnecessary, he still appreciates the days off from school.

“I don’t think the break is needed that much,” Pokle said. “Personally, I don’t think there should be a break then, and I think Thanksgiving break is more than enough, but no school is no school, so I can’t hate it.”

Infographic: Sarayu Bongale