Tweaks that could have been made for academic benefits and professional development

-Written by a non-politically affiliated Educator in the Community

At the December 12th, 2024 Berkeley Heights Board of Education (BHBOE) meeting, Acting Superintendent Mr. Richard Nixon presented the 2025-26 school calendar, which was unanimously approved by all Board members. Based on discussion during the meeting and past BHCW analysis on religious holidays and professional development which led to a 2025-26 calendar proposal, below is feedback:

Comment #1: Both BOE member Pamela Stanley and BOE Vice President Dipti Khanna commented that they are satisfied to see DiWali added to the school calendar.

Discussion #1: It was previously found that 8 of 17 nearby districts are closed for DiWali in October 2025. Now it’s time to explore if the community desires no school for Lunar New Year (Tuesday, February 17th, 2026) and/or Eid (Friday, March 20th, 2026). While the community was surveyed on school calendar options in general, it is unclear whether the community was surveyed on their preference for DiWali, Lunar New Year, and Eid. Therefore, a survey should go out for the latter two holidays for future years.

Comment #2: BOE member and Mountainside Representative Jordan Hyman: “I want to thank Mr. Nixon to note that historically, the communication between [Mountainside and Berkeley Heights] on calendar alignment was not necessarily there. It happened this time. So thank you for that and the alignment that comes from it.”

Discussion #2: This is great! Separate school districts that share a regional high school, such as Governor Livingston High School, should always have near-uniform calendars. In the long run, there should be broader discussion as to whether Berkeley Heights and Mountainside should be one district as currently being studied by the Watchung Hills regional districts initiated by the state, but that’s for another article.

Comment #3: Acting Superintendent Mr. Robert Nixon: “The things that ended up being priorities were not starting school for students in August but starting school for students in September. Ending as early in June as appropriate because once June hits, a lot of people are ready to be done.”

Discussion #3: Starting school for students prior to Labor Day (the first sentence) will allow for the possibility of school ending earlier in June (the second sentence).

For example, modifying the approved calendar, if BHPS started school on Wednesday, August 27th (with two days of staff in-service beginning on Monday, August 25th) and had school on Thursday, August 28th and Friday, August 29th (early dismissal), school could end on Friday, June 12th (with the standing three emergency closure days allocated, see note below).

It was found that in the 2024-25 school year, five school districts began with at least two days of school with students prior to Labor Day. Chatham has maintained five days of school prior to Labor Day for at least the past three years (and for August 2025). New Providence has proposed seven days of school prior to Labor Day for August/September 2026 (pending BOE approval). This technique allows for more days of instruction prior to performance benchmarks such as state testing and Advanced Placement (AP) testing.

Alternatively, there could be longer breaks in the school year such as a four-day Presidents’ Weekend or NJEA Convention week closed in early November (see Comment-Discussion #4).

Comment #4: Acting Superintendent Mr. Robert Nixon: “A lot of people were interested in the entire Teachers’ Convention/election week off.”

Discussion #4: Good decision to leave school on Monday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 5th. Very few districts are off for the entire week and the only way this could happen is starting school in August or ending school later in June, as Mr. Nixon noted. Regarding having teacher in-service (professional development) on election day, see Comment-Discussion #6.

Comment #5: Acting Superintendent Mr. Robert Nixon on the third professional development day (other than the first two on August 27-28): “The professional development day is not a full day off. It is two half-days: [Columbus Day and Friday before Presidents’ Day].”

Discussion #5: This is another mistake, but likely goes beyond Mr. Nixon and the current Board.

A brief history is that prior to the 2020-21 school year, BHPS had two P.M. staff in-service on Columbus Day and one other PM. half-day somewhere with the two full in-service days prior to the first day of school. When Dr. Varley arrived as Superintendent, she proposed that the third professional day be a full day. This is a benefit to staff as one full-day of professional development is six hours while two “P.M. Staff In-Service Days” are 1.5 hours each for a total of three hours.

Therefore, having at least a full third-day of in-service, as the majority of districts have, is beneficial to at least three more hours of professional development for faculty/staff.

One proposal for this third full-day of professional development can occur on the November Election day (see Comment-Discussion #6).

Comment #6: Acting Superintendent Mr. Robert Nixon on why schools are closed on Election Day (Tuesday, November 4th): “As soon as Voter Intimidation Laws [at the state level] came about and police officers were not able to be on-site to offer us protection, that’s when we could not be able to have that day off.”

Discussion #6: Since voting only takes place at Governor Livingston High School, election day could serve as that third full professional development day. Workshops for teachers could be held at the other five schools in the district.

Comment #7: BOE member Kelly Hufnagel [on half-days/student early dismissals]: “As a parent, they have historically frustrated me, especially in the childcare years.”

Discussion #7: Another reason to have the full-day professional development day and full days of schools on days with existing P.M. Staff In-Service. Mrs. Hufnagel notes later that early dismissal days are “loss educational opportunities.”

Comment #8: BOE Vice President Dipti Khanna: “The only downside is that if we have more than three snow days, will [using more than three snow days] eat into the spring break?”

Discussion #8: Allocating for only three (3) emergency closure days is a mistake. BHPS historically includes four (4) emergency closure days. The simple solution here would have been to end school on Thursday, June 18th, 2026, rather than Wednesday, June 17th.

The major loss in the approved 2025-26 school calendar is the elimination of three hours of teacher in-service/professional development, as noted in Comment-Discussion #5. The previously proposed 2025-26 calendar would have fixed all of the above with the exception that schools were closed for Lunar New Year, Eid, and added five professional development early dismissal days. The number of these early dismissal days could be minimized (to Mrs. Hufnagel’s point) while the days in school for Lunar New Year and Eid could be shifted to a longer Presidents’ Day weekend or school ending earlier in June, for example.

NJ21st allows for confidential articles from non-administrators of local public entities whose careers would be affected because of their efforts in informing the public. NJ21st also allows contributions from members of non-profits whose positions as volunteers would be in jeopardy as a result of sharing their positions. In the case of the latter, the non-profit the writer is associated with will be identified. We have confirmed the source of this article, know their location and full name and have had face to face contact with the individual.

NJ21st does not profit from its content, does not accept money for campaign or business advertisements and is not run by a corporation. We welcome content from ALL residents, regardless of political affiliation as long as they work or reside in the 21st District and abide by our terms.

Read All Articles on Education

Read All Articles on the Berkeley Heights BOE

Subscribe to BHCW For Free

Reach Out To Your Representatives