PRINT ARTICLE

Print    Close This Window
District announces 2019-2020 school district calendar
With our lives as busy as ever, district families have told Deer Lakes School District that it is never too early to start planning for next school year.  With that principle in mind, Deer Lakes recently released its 2019-2020 school calendar.

Classes for the 2019-2020 school year will begin for Deer Lakes students on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 and next school year is scheduled to end on Thursday, June 4, 2020.  The teachers will report on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 with their last working day of the school year slated for Friday, June 5, 2020.

As per their contract, teachers will be tasked with 188 work days with 183 of them devoted to student instruction.  That is two fewer in-service days than they are working this year but the student instruction days will remain the same.

According to Deer Lakes Superintendent, Dr. Janell Logue-Belden, those instructional days are of the utmost importance.  “We are occasionally asked why we offer our students 183 days of instruction when the state only requires that we provide them with 180 days,” she asked rhetorically.  “I always tell them that’s because we don’t believe in doing the minimum of anything for our students and those few extra days of instruction from our talented and dedicated staff is just too valuable of an opportunity for our students to miss out on.”  

Deer Lakes’ teacher in-service days are slated to be held on Aug. 20-21, Nov. 11, Jan. 20, 2020, June 4 (half day) and June 5.  There will be no classes on those days.  Students and staff are also scheduled to be off Sept. 2 (Labor Day), Feb. 17, 2020 (Presidents’ Day), May 22 (High School Prom) and May 25 (Memorial Day).

Thanksgiving break will run from Nov. 28 through Dec. 2.  The school district’s Christmas vacation will start on Dec. 23 with students not expected to return until Jan. 6, 2020.  Next year’s spring break is scheduled to run from April 9-14.  

However, Western Pennsylvania’s notoriously fickle weather can throw a monkey wrench in the best laid plans and that often impacts schools’ respective schedules.  If Deer Lakes loses instructional days to events beyond anyone’s control (snow days, power outages, etc.), the make-up dates will first come from the spring break dates in the following order: April 14, 9 and 13.  Should the district be forced to make up additional dates – as was the case this school year – that will happen at the discretion of the school district’s administration and its board of school directors.

The high school’s commencement ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June 4, 2020 and next year’s Kennywood Picnic will be held on June 16, 2020.  

The calendar also has two early release days scheduled for Dec. 20, 2019 and June 4, 2020, the last school day before the start of Christmas Vacation and the last day of classes respectively.

Finally, it is imperative to note that this initial calendar, which can be seen below, serves as an overview of what district students and their families can expect for next year.  All events are subject to change.  For the most up-to-date information regarding Deer Lakes’ school calendar information, please visit the school district’s website, www.deerlakes.net.
Attachments Available To Download:
School Calendar: 2019-2020