Kalispell Public Schools has finalized the 2022-23 school calendar.

The first day of school is Aug. 31 for first- through sixth-grade and ninth-grade. Grades 10th-12th will start school Sept. 1. The last day of school for all students will be June 9.

The school district will continue releasing students early on Wednesdays.

The district first started releasing students early on Wednesdays in November 2020, in response to increased staff workloads caused by the pandemic such as supporting students or covering for colleagues in quarantine. The practice continued with support from parents and teachers. Now, the reason for continuing the practice is less about pandemic fallout and more focused on collaborative efforts to improve education and curriculum, according to district Assistant Superintendent Callie Langohr. It will still serve as a time students can get extra help, tutoring, or make up work, for example.

“It’s a wide umbrella. One of the reasons for continuing with early releases on Wednesdays is because we are looking at moving our educational practices forward and we need to have time next year as teachers and team-building leaders to work on that,” Langohr said. “We would like to take a critical look at our schooling and our practices and do a better job. We’re doing a good job now, but we want to see if we can do better and that is going to take some time in collaborative groups to get those things figured out. It’s similar to a business model. We’re green and growing, not resting on our laurels.”

Regarding holiday breaks, there will be no school Nov. 24-25 for Thanksgiving break. Winter break will be from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2. Spring break is set for March 28-31.

Dates to remember:

Aug. 31 — First day of school for grades first through sixth and ninth

Sept. 1 — First day of school for grades 10th-12th

Sept. 5 — No school, Labor Day

Oct. 20-21 — No school, professional development/training

Nov. 1 — Elementary parent-teacher conferences, no school for early-kindergarten through fifth-grade

Nov. 3 — Middle and high school parent-teacher conferences, early release for grades sixth through 12th

Nov. 11 — Early release, speech meet, Veterans Day

Nov. 23 — No school trade-off day

Nov. 24-25 — Thanksgiving break

Dec. 22-Jan. 2 — Winter break

Jan. 16 — No school, professional development/training

Jan. 20 — Early release, first semester ends

Feb. 20 — No school, President’s Day

March 27 — No school, trade-off day

March 28-31 — Spring break

April 14 — No school, music festival

May 29 — No school, Memorial Day

June 1 — Linderman Education Center graduation

June 2 — Flathead High School graduation

June 3 — Glacier High School graduation

June 9 — Early release, last day of school

*In addition to the dates listed above, Wednesdays are also early-release days

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 406-758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.