The Minneapolis Board of Education approved the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 calendars during a board meeting Tuesday. The vote was 6-1 with board director Richard Mammen dissenting. 

Dr. Bernadeia Johnson, superintendent of schools, called the revised calendars the strongest options for approval and said the calendars addressed many of the concerns community members, parents and staff members voiced regarding time in school.  

Highlights of the approved calendars include:

• Start before Labor Day to maintain consistency for parents and students who are accustomed to the current calendar. The 2013-2014 school year will be the fifth year in a row that MPS starts before Labor Day.
• Extends winter break to 10 days and creates a non-school day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for students and staff. 
• Adds teacher days in June and August to make up for additional days off during winter break. 
• Maintains consistency in providing 176 student instructional days. There are 86 days in the first semester and 90 days in the second semester. 
• The number of schools days meets the state requirement that “independent school districts [must] schedule at least as many instructional days as were originally scheduled for FY 1997.” For MPS, that number was 170 days. 
• School ends before the second week of June and allows one week or more before the start of summer school. 
• Possible snow days are added to the end of the calendar in June. 

More information about the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 calendars, including answers to commonly asked questions, is available at:www.mpls.k12.mn.us/201314-calendar