The Tomball ISD Board of Trustees approved the instructional calendars for the 2010-11 and the 2011-12 school years at a recent meeting, following the recommendations of the district’s Calendar Committee.

For the next two years, as per state law, Tomball ISD will again begin classes in the fourth week of August, on the 23rd in 2010 and on the 22nd in 2011, both Mondays.

With the Texas legislature mandating the number of instructional days in each semester, the Calendar Committee was challenged with fitting in the appropriate number of days in each calendar’s fall semester while still having the ability to end the semester and complete testing by the Christmas break.

However, according to the district, “due to the requirements set by the Texas legislature, it is not possible to both balance the lengths of the semesters and to finish the first semester before the December break.”

For the 2010-11 school year, the December break is set for Dec. 20 - Jan. 4. The following year, the semester break is scheduled for Dec. 19 - Jan. 3.

Tomball ISD is also continuing its practice for the next two years of beginning Thanksgiving break on a Wednesday, Nov. 24 next year and Nov. 23 in 2011, giving students three weekdays off those weeks.

Spring Break will again fall on the second full week of March, March 14 – 18 in 2011 and March 12 – 16 in 2012.

Other important dates set for the 2010-11 calendar are the last day of classes on June 1, 2011 and graduation on June 4, 2011. Student and staff days off are set for Oct. 11, 2010, Jan. 4, 2011, Jan. 17, 2011, Feb. 21, 2011 and June 2, 2011.

Holidays for the district in 2010-11 will be Labor Day on Sept. 6, 2010, Easter on April 22, 2011 and Memorial Day on May 30, 2011.

When formulating the district’s instructional calendar, a committee comprised of parents, teachers, counselors and administrators representing all grade levels of instruction gather to formulate a plan.

According to the district, “the committee was charged with developing calendars that meet all state and local requirements and that would be instructionally sound.”

When comprising the calendar, the committee evaluated “antidotal and statistical data and overall high school grade averages by grading period,” as well as gathered information from the areas they represented before making their final recommendation to the board.

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