Board Approves 2024-25 Calendar

The Board of Education approved the 2024-2025 School Calendar on January 8, 2024. The first day of school for K-12 students will be August 13, 2024. The first day for preschool will be August 19, 2024.

New to 2024-2025 is the addition of four early release days for all K-12 students: September 18, 2024, January 15, 2025, February 26, 2025, and March 26, 2025. These afternoons will provide more time for extended planning and data review for K-12 faculty. The 2023-2026 District Improvement Plan prioritizes increasing student achievement, including providing resources for teachers and time to collaborate. Early release days are four afternoons, strategically planned to provide more time for collaboration, learning, and working together, and continuing to improve our work for students. 

Early Release dismissal times for each school will be shared in advance of the school year, but will include an approximate half day for all students, including lunch at school. Early Release afternoons offer opportunities for families to schedule appointments for students without missing school: checkups, orthodontists, etc. And, the advance notice of the days also allows for families and groups to coordinate childcare options for the four early release afternoons.

Each of the four days will have common goals and a set schedule for faculty and staff. The scheduling of days is intentional, both the time of the year, and with a preference for Wednesdays over Fridays. Wednesdays were selected based on the understanding that these days are dedicated to planning and collaboration rather than an early start to the weekend.

Kentucky school districts are required to be in school a minimum of 170 student attendance days, or 1,062 instructional hours. BGISD students will attend 175 days in 2024-25. School districts must also provide school staff a minimum of four professional development days and four paid holidays within the calendar, and must be closed for the Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 20, 2025.