Everyday life is challenging enough for most parents and guardians, which is why Kearney School District is taking steps to make things easier for everyone with our new academic calendar for the 2023-2024 year.

*I’m very pleased with the work they did and I hope they’re proud of the result - Human Resources Zach McMains*

The KSD Board of Education (School Board) approved next year’s academic calendar as presented by Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Zach McMains during a meeting last night at the district central office.

The calendar features a five-minute adjustment of school bell times, a change that means the district can guarantee that the last day of classes won’t be impacted by excessive snow days.

“The way we’ve structured this calendar means that we won’t have to make any days up due to inclement weather,” Dr. McMains explained. “All these dates are solid and won’t have to change.”

The first day of classes for the 2023-2024 school year will be Tuesday, Aug. 22. Students will attend school for 173 total days and the year will end on Friday, May 24.

The calendar is the result of a close collaboration over the span of about two months between administrators, teachers, support staff and parents/guardians representing every KSD school, according to McMains. He praised the calendar committee for paying close attention to the input they received and working hard to make the right adjustments.

“They were thinking the whole time about what is best for students and the community,” McMains said. “I’m very pleased with the work they did and I hope they’re proud of the result.”

The biggest change compared to the current academic calendar is the addition of 20 instructional hours. This is accomplished by changing secondary school hours to 7:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. and elementary school hours to 8:35 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.

While it’s likely that school will still be canceled at some point due to bad weather next year, shifting the schedule means that the students will not have to make up those snow days.

Visit www.ksdr1.net/district/calendar to view and download the academic calendars for the current and upcoming school years.

KPGZ News - Kearney School District Director of Communications and Community Relations Ray Weikal contributed to this story