By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–While carefully negotiating through the challenges of the current school year, Wes Kennedy and the Union City School Board are also already looking ahead to the future.
The board unanimously approved Kennedy’s recommendation for the 2021-22 school calendar to highlight its regular monthly meeting this morning.
The future schedule has many similarities to the original calendar for the current year, with state-mandated 180 instructional days that will be split 88-92 between the two semesters.
There are also four significant breaks scheduled for both teachers and students.
Classes are slated to begin for students Aug. 9. Registration is set for Aug. 5.
Professional Development for teachers is scheduled for Aug. 2-4, with a teacher prep day on tap for Aug. 6 after two similar days in July.
The exact graduation date is yet to be determined. The last day of classes for the remainder of the non-senior student body is set for May 24, 2022 — with an early dismissal time on that final day of school.
Significant to planning was Kennedy’s desire to not begin school until early August and to be dismissed before Memorial Day.
Check and check.
“Those are two things that have been proven to work well for Union City Schools in the past,” said Kennedy, who’ll begin his fifth year as Director of UC Schools in August. “The calendar will let us make the most of our educational days and will give our faculty the opportunity to develop a plan for those days and the breaks between them.”
Fall Break will be observed Oct. 6-8 with the weekend to follow. The traditional three-day break at Thanksgiving from Nov. 24-26 will essentially turn into five days with the weekend added.
The annual Christmas/New Year’s break will include three weekends and will run from Dec. 17 until Jan. 4, 2022, for students. Teachers will report back for a fourth in-service day, Jan. 3.
There will be early dismissal for the holiday break on Dec. 16.
Spring Break 2022 is slated for April 4-8 with weekends before and after.
“I believe we have great balance between our scheduled educational days and the time that gives both our teachers and students a chance to catch their breath and recharge,” said Assistant Director of Schools and Supervisor of Student Services Michael Paul Miller, who was instrumental in putting the calendar together.
“And an almost even split of instructional days between the two semesters will allow our teachers to effectively plan their curriculums. It’s a really good calendar, I believe.”
There will be no classes in the UC School System on the traditional holidays, including Labor Day (Sept. 6), Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 17, 2022), Presidents’ Day (Feb. 21, 2022) and Good Friday (April 15, 2022).
A fifth professional development day for teachers is planned for March 18, 2022.
Any more than five inclement weather days will be made up at the end of the year.