By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Students in the Alabaster City School System will return to classes on Aug. 8, and will attend a total of 180 instructional days during the 2018-2019 school year, after the city’s Board of Education approved the calendar during a March 12 meeting.

School Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve the calendar, which came after a few weeks of collecting public comment on the matter.

ACS Student Services Coordinator Dorann Tanner said the district received 14 comments from parents through email and on Facebook, with the majority of them requesting the entire week of Thanksgiving off. Other comments included support for the calendar, requests to move the Thompson High School graduation to a Friday or Saturday, concerns about starting too early, a request for more time off for Christmas and support for the teacher work days spread throughout the year.

ACS Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said he worked with a group of stakeholders while compiling the calendar, and said the 180 instructional days were recommended by the state school superintendent for all Alabama public school systems.

“It’s similar to the calendar that we have this year, and we think it’s a really great calendar,” Vickers said.

The system’s teachers will start the school year by coming to the school on two flex days sometime between July 23 and Aug. 3 before a teacher institute day on Aug. 6 and a teacher workday on Aug. 7.

Students will begin the school year on Wednesday, Aug. 8.

Students and teachers will be off on Sept. 3 for Labor Day, Oct. 8 for Columbus Day, Nov. 12 for Veterans Day and from Nov. 21-23 for the Thanksgiving break before the first semester ends on Dec. 19.

Students and teachers will be out of school from Dec. 20-Jan. 3, 2019, for the Christmas holidays, and teachers will return on Jan. 4, 2019, for a work day. Students will begin the second semester on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019.

During the second semester, students and teachers will be out on Jan. 21, 2019, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Feb. 18, 2019, for Presidents Day, March 25-29, 2019, for spring break and on April 19, 2019, for a weather day. Students will be out on March 8, 2019, for a teacher work day.

Thompson High School’s graduation will be on May 21, 2019, and the second semester will end on May 23, 2019, with a 1 p.m. dismissal.

The first grading period will end on Oct. 5 with grades sent home on Oct. 12, the second grading period will end on Dec. 19 with grades sent home on Jan. 8, 2019, the third grading period will end on March 7, 2019, with grades sent home on March 15, 2019, and the fourth grading period will end on May 23 with grades sent home on May 24, 2019.