New start date for 2022-23 school year

JOHNSTON, Ia. (July 12, 2022) — One more day of summer! The upcoming school year will start a day later for most students, following an adjustment of the 2022-23 academic calendar by the Johnson school board.

The first day of school for grades K-12 will now be Wednesday, Aug. 24. The first day for 4-year-olds at JELA (Johnston Early Learning Academy) will be Thursday, Sept. 1, while 2 and 3-year-olds will start after the Labor Day, the week of Sept. 6.

The change will allow all JCSD staff members an additional day for professional development so they can participate in emergency drills and training with Johnston police prior to students returning. This comes in connection with the governor recently announcing that each school building in the state will be provided $50,000 for safety updates. The Johnston Community School District continually looks for ways to improve safety for our students and staff.

An additional adjustment to the 2022-23 JCSD academic calendar involved moving elementary spring 2023 conference dates from Feb. 23 to March 2, and from Feb. 28 to March 7. This change is a result of a conversation at our Labor/Management Committee, where staff members requested the change to better balance the conference schedule for elementary teachers.

Please find below some answers to additional questions you may have.

Q: Will updated calendars be put on the district website?

A: Yes, updated 2022-23 JCSD Academic Calendars have been posted on the JCSD website at https://www.johnstoncsd.org/departments/human-resources/academic-calendars/

Q: Will school still get out an hour early that first day since it’s a Wednesday?

A: Yes, the first day of school will be early out since it’s a Wednesday.

Q: How will this affect summer KTC?

A: The last day of KTC will still be Wednesday, Aug. 17 as previously scheduled. The KTC staff will join the rest of the JCSD staff in having an extra day of in-service training focused on safety.

Q: Will this change the end date of the school year?

A: No, the Johnston Community School District’s 2022-23 academic calendar exceeded the number of instructional hours required by the state. Moving the start date back by one day should not affect the scheduled end date of the school year.