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Per MCPS:
This January has been a challenging month for our community, with freezing temperatures, snow and icy conditions affecting our daily routines. Students, staff and families have navigated these tough weeks with resilience, being cautious while traveling and layering up against the cold. We can now look forward to a welcome warm-up in the coming days; however, we must make a necessary adjustment to the school calendar due to the weather-related closures earlier this month.
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Schools and offices were closed on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, and Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. The 2024–2025 MCPS school calendar includes 182 instructional days, two more than the state of Maryland’s minimum requirement of 180. As a result, the closures on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 will not affect the school calendar.
However, the closure on Jan. 8 requires using one designated make-up day in the calendar. The school year will be extended by one day, with the last day of school for students now scheduled as an early release day on Monday, June 16, 2025. Additionally, Friday, June 13, 2025, which was scheduled as an early release day, will now be a full instructional day for students.
Should there be more closures, further calendar adjustments will need to be considered, MCPS may request a waiver from the state-mandated 180 instructional days from the Maryland State Department of Education. To qualify for a waiver, however, MCPS must demonstrate efforts to make up lost instructional time, including adjusting the existing school calendar.
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During severe weather, closure decisions are made to maintain the safety of students and staff. Should our community receive any further weather-related closures, resulting in necessary calendar changes, those changes will be determined and communicated swiftly.
See the updated Traditional School Day calendar here. Arcola Elementary School, which follows an innovative calendar, does not change.
