Fort Vermilion School Division Board of Trustees has approved a new calendar for the 2024-2025 School Year that includes significant changes from previous years.

Changes include the elimination of PD Days during the school year, as well as the Quad system for high schools. There is minimal change to the length of each school day with four minutes added for kindergarten to grade nine and five additional minutes for high school students. The number of instructional days remains unchanged at 175 days, and the last day of school for all children will be June 6, 2025.

Holiday breaks at Christmas and Easter will remain the same, however the February break will be a couple of days shorter. Of the 17 days that schools were closed last year (not including PD Days, Teacher’s Convention, and statutory holidays) only 12 days will be closures related to breaks during the 2024-2025 school year. With the additional minutes at the end of the school day, students will have more instructional time than the previous year at 962.5 hours for kindergarten to grade 9 and 1,021 hours for high school. This compares to 950 hours and 1,009 hours respectively, for the 2023-2024 school year.

Prior to making this decision, the Board of Trustees carefully considered input and feedback from parents and guardians as well as staff members. The rationale was made with the following factors in mind:

• Teacher Recruitment & Retention
• Alignment with the new collegiate model and post-secondary calendars
• Fire/Flood Season and loss of instructional time over the past 8 years
• Moving of Diploma exams
• Cancellation risk for Diplomas in January
• Elimination of the Quad System (high schools)
• Childcare Hardship (NOTE: We are currently working on a partnership that could add an additional 130 future spaces, more new spaces will open in September in the town of High Level.)
• Parent Opinion: 74% in favor
• Teacher Opinion: 65% in favor
• Support Staff Opinion: 66% in favor

Over 700 stakeholders were engaged with, and surveyed, through School Community Consultations and staff meetings throughout the fall. Trustees visited each school and held discussions with parents, teachers, and support staff. Following a presentation outlining the changes being considered, consultations and staff meetings were opened for discussion and concluded with a survey, allowing attendees an opportunity to provide direct input.

Results show that 74% of parents/guardians surveyed are in favor of the proposed changes, with 65% of teachers and 66% of support staff also in favor. A major factor influencing the Board’s decision is the fire/flood season that has resulted in significant losses to instructional time over the last eight years.

Please visit our Calendar page for the complete 2024-2025 School Year Calendar.