At the January 18 School Board meeting, the Jefferson Parish School Board approved the 2023-24 academic calendar. Board members approved “calendar option C,” which received the most votes in a public survey conducted by the district in January. You can view the full calendar online.

Highlights of the 2023-24 calendar include:

• Teachers start August 1. Students in grades 1-8 start August 7. High schools will follow a Smart Start schedule. Students in 12th grade start August 7, 11th grade start August 8, 10th grade start August 9, and 9th grade start August 10. All high school students report on August 11. Kindergarten and pre-K students start August 14-15.
• Fall Break is October 6 and 9, Thanksgiving Break is November 20-24, Winter Break is December 18 to January 2, Mardi Gras Break is February 9-16, and Spring Break is March 29 to April 2.
• Other student holidays include September 4 (Labor Day), November 1 (Professional Development Day), January 3 (Records Day/Teacher PD), and January 15 (MLK).
• Mission to Mastery intercession periods will be offered for students who need additional support. December 18-20 and 27-29 (during Winter Break), and February 15-16 (during Mardi Gras Break). 2022 Jefferson Summer Bridge dates will be finalized and shared soon.
• The last day for students is May 23 and the last day for teachers is May 24.

This year’s calendar survey also asked stakeholders their preference should days need to be made up for inclement weather or an emergency situation. Of the 6,628 who participated in the survey, 46% preferred adding minutes to the day, 29.6% preferred a combination of added minutes and days, and 24.4% preferred adding days to the calendar by removing student holidays first followed by employee holidays. 

The Jefferson Parish Schools calendar committee met to develop calendar options. Based on feedback from the committee and Dr. Gray, three options were presented to stakeholders through a public survey available from January 4 through January 11 at noon.  After 6,628 votes were cast in the survey, calendar C led with 45% of the votes.  

The approved calendar provides more than the required instructional minutes, adheres to the board’s agreement with the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, and includes voluntary Mission to Mastery intersession periods to provide students with additional optional opportunities for enrichment and accelerated learning.