By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT–Four members of the Board of Education met Thursday, April 2, to discuss the 2026/27 calendar and review the upcoming student climate survey.

Calendar

Last month, the school board seemed poised to revise its 2026-27 calendar in a way that allowed students to get out early in June without sacrificing the April break to excessive snow days.

This month, with a suggestion that days off be given in observance of three other cultural and religious holidays, it’s back to square one.

Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said he has received feedback from some community members that the holidays of Diwali, Eid and the Lunar New Year be recognized in the same fashion as some Christian and Jewish holidays.

Diwali, celebrated in October or November, is the Hindu “Festival of Lights.” 

Lunar New Year, in January or February, marks the start of spring for many Asian cultures. 

Eid, a Muslim holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan, can fall any time of the year. 

In 2026, Eid was observed on March 20. Ironically, the district calendar called for March 20 to be a professional development day for staff, and a day off for students, until excessive snow days prompted the school board to convert it into a school day.

With only a bare quorum of four board members present on Thursday, no decisions were made and it is unclear how much traction the new idea will get.

Scarice, for one, said he is not recommending the board add any more day offs, holidays or otherwise, to the calendar. 

Board Chair Lee Goldstein said members of the community she has spoken to have suggested a more philosophical approach to recognizing, respecting and honoring holidays without making them a day off from school. Part of that respect would be accommodations made to let students who do observe the holidays make up missed tests or homework. And for students who fast during Ramadan, some activity other than sitting in a cafeteria while other students eat.

Souleye Kebe, a Staples senior and student representative on the board, said he didn’t find work insurmountable if he skipped a day to observe a holiday although he added he would like to see the holiday added to the calendar.

He said he had to miss school on March 20, when Eid was celebrated.

Anwara Olasewere, a Staples junior and the board’s second student representative, having to catch up after missing school for a holiday can be hard. Not having a test the day after a holiday would be helpful, she added.

Board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon suggested the student body would get more out of learning about holidays with school in session. She cited Veterans Day as an example. School is held and veterans visit to talk about their experiences.

Not everyone agreed that was enough.

Board Member Abby Tolan said the current model, which recognizes Christian and some Jewish holidays with days off, but not others, sends a message.

“It seems unfair to me,” Tolan said.

Her suggestion is to start school earlier in August to accommodate the additional holidays.

Already, school is to start in the fall of 2026 on Tuesday, August 25 for students, nearly two weeks before Labor Day.

Any more would have teachers returning to school in mid-August and students back in class before many summer camps end, it was suggested.

Goldstein said if holidays were added she’d rather the district shrink its student calendar from 182 to 180 days rather than return to class earlier in August.

She said she might also support shrinking to 180 days once the district exhausts five snow days in any given year.

Board Member Stephen Shackelford said he’d like to hear from teachers about the impact of a 180-day school year–as is mandated by the state–compared to the 182 days that is the Westport standard.

Shackelford called the school calendar a reflection of community values. He said he wondered how many people the district would be helping by adding the holidays.

He also wondered whether making school half-days on some holidays might suffice.

During a community conversation held with the public last week, Goldstein said she has heard from elementary school parents in particular who find the number of half days already in the calendar a logistical challenge to holding down jobs.

At one point it was suggested staff PD days which are already sprinkled throughout the years be made to coincide with the new holidays.

What message would that send to staff, asked Assistant Superintendent John Bayers.

Christine Cao, a parent who spoke during public comment said she is Chinese, her husband, from India. Both Diwali and Lunar New Year are celebrated in her home.

She said the concern was more with raising awareness than getting a holiday.

“For me, it’s not about a day off,” Cao said.

The proposed calendar, as discussed last month, would end on Friday, June 18 if there are five snow days, sooner if not.

Student Climate Survey

By a 4-0 vote, the board approved a Student Climate Survey that will be given to all students in grades three through twelve once they return from the April break.

At its last meeting in March, the board asked that several questions be changed.

Assistant Superintendent Anna Mahon told the board that only some of its requests made it into the final draft of the survey, which measures perceptions of emotional and instructional climate, building and personal safety, student discipline, bullying and harassment, and student engagement.

Mahon said Hanover Research, the company in charge of developing the survey, indicated that district results could not be accurately compared with others if wording of some questions were changed.

“Hanover said it would hurt their results,” Mahon said.

Goldstein, for instance, had wanted the “not” taken out of a question that asked students if they agreed or disagreed with a statement that “My school does NOT have issues with violence.” 

Goldstein said she still preferred the question be a positive rather than a negative but voted to approve the mandated survey so that it can be administered on time.

Linda Conner Lambeck

^{_{Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.}}