Lauderdale County parents who want to take a late summer vacation before the new school year begins will have a couple of extra days to do just that with the county school board Thursday approving a 2024-25 academic calendar with Aug. 6-7 as the start of school.

Once again, Lauderdale County School District students’ first day of school will be based on their last name. Tuesday, Aug. 6, or A Day, will be the start date for students whose last name begins with the letters A-K. Students whose last name begins with the letters L-Z will begin class on B Day, or Wednesday, Aug. 7. Both groups of students will be on campus beginning Thursday, Aug. 8.

“Those are the only A/B days for the year. The current year that we are in, we had A/B days at the start of each semester. We are not doing that next year, just at the start of August,” Ken Hardy, director of federal programs, student data and assessment, told LCSD Board of Education members.

The 2024-2025 school calendar, approved by the school board Thursday, will include 180 student days plus seven professional development days for teachers. Distance learning days will be eliminated in next year’s calendar, he said. The district had four distance learning days on the calendar two years ago and two days this current school year.

Teachers next year will return to the classroom on Thursday, Aug. 1, the same day they started back at the beginning of this academic year. Students last August started school on Aug. 3-4.

In planning next year’s academic year, Hardy said the district subcommittee had tried to avoid having any student days after Memorial Day at the end of the school year in May 2025, but that would have meant teachers returning this summer at the end of July.

He said the committee opted not to do take that route.

“We have two days after Memorial Day (next school year), which is less than ideal, with one of those being a student day and one of those being a professional development day,” Hardy said.

In looking at next year’s academic calendar, a district subcommittee initially polled directors, principals and the superintendent’s teacher advisory council.

“We got some great feedback from those different groups on the general construct of the calendar,” Hardy said. “The calendar subcommittee met again, and, from there, we came up with two options.”

The committee sent the two options out to all LCSD employees for a vote. The calendar option chosen received 57% of the vote from 359 employees who responded to the poll, he said.

Next year’s calendar includes a two-day fall break in October, a week-long break at Thanksgiving, a two-week break at Christmas, a week-long spring break in March, a two-day break at Easter with the last day of school for students falling the day after Memorial Day on May 27.

Lauderdale County School District 2024-2025 holidays and closings, where students will not be required to be at school, include:

– Sept. 2 for Labor Day

– Oct. 7-9 for fall break and teacher professional day

– Nov. 25-29 for Thanksgiving break

– Dec. 23-Jan. 3 for Christmas break

– Jan. 20 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

– Feb. 17 for Presidents’ Day

– March 10-14 for spring break

– April 18 & 21 for Easter break

– May 26 for Memorial Day