The 2016-2017 school calendar is now available.
“The school calendar is designed to balance instructional time and professional learning for teachers, as professional learning is key to student excellence,” said Education, Early Learning and Culture Minister Doug Currie. “I thank our school calendar committee, which includes representatives from the PEI Teachers Federation and Home and School Federation, for collaborating on a calendar that supports learners.”
The 2016-2017 school calendar has 197 total school days, the same as last year. There are 181 instructional days, which is also unchanged from last year.
Effective professional learning is directly linked to student excellence. There are 11 professional learning days for K-9 teachers, with ten professional learning days for high school teachers. There are also five administrative days for K-9 teachers, including parent-teacher interview days, while the high school teachers have six administrative days.
New for this year is a rolling professional learning day in November, where instead of all schools being closed on the same day, some families of schools will close, while the rest of the system remains open.
On this rolling professional learning day, Sandra Herbst, one of the nation’s leading experts on assessment for learning, will be traveling across the province to meet with every Island teacher to discuss strategies to help students make improvements in foundational skills.
“Government’s priority is to build a strong and cohesive education system that provides young people with every opportunity to grow and succeed,” added Minister Currie. “I encourage all families to consult the school calendar to support their children’s education by planning for family appointments, holidays, and other activities in a way that maximizes the amount of time their children spend in school.”
The school calendar is available online at http://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/schoolcalendar