2026-2027 Calendar Consultation Report
The 2026-2027 Instructional Calendar consultation ran from January 15 to noon on January 22, 2026. The invitation to participate was shared with families at the FSD website, school websites, Division Newsletter, and social media. The survey was embedded at the Division website and at FSDConnect.com. FSD Team Members were invited to participate directly by email and had additional access to the survey via the internal staff portal. Below we summarize participation, key themes, and our considerations of your feedback.
Number of Internal Participants: 33 (3.6% of staff)
Number of External Participants: 86 (1.1% of families)
Considering the Feedback
Foothills School Division thanks the 33 team members and 86 members of our greater community who took the time to review the Instructional Calendar and supplementary System Calendar and provide their insight. As the participation in this engagement is not representative of our staff (3.6%) and the families we serve (1.1%), it would not be in the best interest to move forward with the changes proposed by participants. We understand the tight turnaround to provide feedback and are planning for future engagements on Instructional Calendars to be conducted earlier in the school year to inform the drafting of the calendar, and to be designed to address the specific aspects of the calendar that are flexible within the frameworks the Division operates.
Your voice is important. The feedback you provided helps to shape our understanding of the priorities of both our valued team members and those we serve in our community who took the time to participate. Below, we share with you the main topics of your feedback along with the frameworks and considerations that impact development of our instructional calendar.
What we heard
The majority of FSD staff felt the calendar was balanced, supported professional needs, optimized student success, and optimized staff success, but noted the calendar made them unhappy. Team members indicated that the spacing of breaks and the Fall Break in November are appreciated as they support wellness and well-being. Recognition of the shift in the scheduling of Opening Day is made as well. Based on comments, it is to be clarified with our team members that Teachers are returning to work on Tuesday, August 25 for the local learning day. This has been made more clear in the final calendar.
From the public consultation, many families used the question of “What works well in the calendar” to outline how the calendar could be improved from their perspective. The top positives that were noted include the balance of breaks and spacing of non-instructional days.
Suggestions for improvement from both groups are focussed on the length of the 2026 summer break with the ask for school to start after labour day, and end earlier in June. Additionally, some parents recommend reducing the number of non-instructional days (professional learning) and eliminating the longer breaks in the year.
We recognize and appreciate the refinement to the calendar provided by our community. However, it is important to note that certain proposals are not feasible due to exam schedules, balancing of the semesters, and our commitments as a learning organization. While these parameters were shared within the engagement process, we understand they may not have been top of mind for all participants when offering feedback. We are committed to transparent communication and in the below chart, we respond to the most common suggested changes and those that require clarity by outlining the considerations and frameworks that impact the construction of the calendar.
Your Feedback | Proposed By | Our Considerations |
To include teachers/staff on the building of the calendar, before providing a draft. Feedforward vs. Feedback | Staff | We will make changes to how we gather your information to build future instructional calendars |
Move return date from August 21 to August 24 or 25 | Staff | Teaching staff are set to return on August 25 for the local learning day as August 24 is a leadership team (FAA) meeting. This will be made more clear in the System Calendar for Staff. School start up is outlined in AP 130. |
Move school start to September 8; staff return August 28 or 31 | Staff Parents | Even if we removed long breaks, there are not enough instructional days to meet requirements, especially to balance the 2 semesters. |
Reduce the frontloading of prep or learning time at start up. Suggestions to move 1 learning day later in the year | Staff | 1 learning day has been removed from the startup week as compared to last year. Operational days provide schools with local agency. |
End the school year on June 25. End elementary school year June 24. Operational Day June 25. | Parents Staff | As indicated on the calendar, Alberta Education & Childcare’s Diploma Exam schedule runs June 11 to June 28, 2027. PATs are in a similar window. To provide equitable hours of work for our teams and varied school configurations in our systems, the calendar is the same for all. |
Reduce the number of professional learning days | Parents | Professional learning is integral to continuous improvement. Time is needed to implement new curriculum and build collaborative learning opportunities for students within the school. |
Reinstate PL in June for Elementary and Junior High Schools so schools can plan for year ahead / complete learner profiles | Staff | Given the PAT and Diploma schedule set by the province, the opportunity to include a PL day in June is not feasible this year. PL day is in May for all schools. |
Move the February 17 PL to March | Staff | Two PL days in March is not preferred to balance the calendar. Moving this day would mean removing an instructional day, impacting other breaks in the calendar. |
Move January 29 PL to January 4 to allow for prep after the Winter Break | Staff | The winter break will not be extended. |
Suggestion to make longer instructional days to allow for half day dismissals or shorter calendar year | Parents | This would require a systemwide engagement and consultation. |
Half days before breaks (Winter, Spring, Year End) | Parents | Half days would reduce the instructional time from the school year, requiring the addition of days within the instructional calendar. |
Remove February Break/Teachers’ Convention | Parents | ATA Convention dates are determined externally and are laid out within the collective agreement. |
Remove the November Break | Parents | This is a high time for cold and flu season; data indicates that we see reduced absenteeism for students and staff. This break reduces additional costs in staff coverage. |
Move Spring Break to after Easter; | Parents Staff | Alberta Education & Childcare’s Diploma Exam schedule runs April 6 to 14. As a designated writing centre, FSD schools cannot be closed during that time. |
Move learner conferences to March to allow teachers/schools to discuss placements and advancement into the next year or school in the FSD system (ie. Grade 9’s going into 10 at FCHS) | Staff | The dates for learner conferences are set to be in the middle of the semester, providing balanced feedback for learners and their families within the semester. |
Allow for learner conferences to be during the daytime to promote staff wellness. | Staff | Learner conferences are a part of assignable time. To encourage families to engage in these opportunities to participate in their child’s learning, we will maintain evening conferences. |
To view additional data please view the 2026-2027 Calendar Consultation Report at this link
