Chicago Public Schools calendar: CPS plans August start date for 2022-2023 school year

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Public Schools are planning to have students return for the 2022-2023 school year even earlier this year.

CPS is proposing a start date of Monday, August 22. The state's largest school district said this calendar aligns more closely with the academic calendars of suburban school districts and local colleges and universities.

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Highlights include:

- A school start date of Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 and an end date of Wednesday, June 7, 2023

- Students complete their first semester prior to Winter Break on Friday, Dec. 22, 2022

- A less even distribution of instructional days and weeks across the four quarters of the school year, due to the completion of first semester prior to Winter Break.

The first day of school in the 2021-22 academic year was Aug. 30, a shift from the usual start date of the Tuesday after Labor Day.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez joined ABC7 Chicago live last month to talk about the change, before choosing to recommend a date.

He said the new CPS start date seeks to "start the year earlier, consolidate report card pick up, and continue to offer important staff professional development and collaboration time for our faculty and staff."

Nearly 200 principals participated in surveys and focus groups to inform the design of the calendar, CPS said.

The Chicago Board of Education will vote on the new school calendar during its monthly meeting Wednesday.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.