After a winter marked by multiple snow closures, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District has revised its 2025–26 calendar, converting three previously scheduled days off into regular in-person school days to meet New Jersey’s minimum attendance requirements.
Students will now attend school on:
- Monday, April 6 (originally part of spring break)
- Thursday, May 21
- Friday, May 22
The changes shorten what had been extended breaks around Easter and Memorial Day, restoring those dates as instructional days.
Superintendent Dr. Rosetta Treece said the district must recover snow days to meet the state’s required 180 in-person school days. Hopewell Valley traditionally schedules 182 days — slightly above the minimum — a structure embedded in staff contracts and district philosophy.
“We’ve always said our kids deserve a longer learning experience,” Treece said.
She also emphasized that families should not worry if they had already made travel plans based on the original calendar.
“Don’t worry about our calendars in your life. If you have planned a vacation that you booked somewhere, go,” Treece said.
Treece noted that several of the affected days — especially around Memorial Day — were added to the calendar in recent years as additional breaks following the pandemic.
“When people say we lost a vacation, no you didn’t,” she said. “Those were added on after COVID.”
Before that shift, she said, those dates typically would have remained regular school days or extended the year further into June.
“We lost the Monday following Easter, and the other days were around Memorial Day weekend,” she said. “Now it’s just a three-day weekend.”
E-learning days do not replace in-person days
The calendar change has also renewed confusion among families about e-learning days, which districts assign during some snow closures but which New Jersey generally does not count toward required instructional days.
Treece said parents should view those days as enrichment rather than high-stakes academic requirements.
“It’s supposed to be enrichment,” she said. “Nobody should be failing from one homework assignment anyway.”
Assignments help teachers gauge understanding but are not intended to penalize students who face disruption during closures.
Students typically have at least two days after returning to school to submit work, she added.
“We don’t want you to fight with your kids over an enrichment assignment,” Treece said. “Parents shouldn’t be stressing over this.”
Why the state still requires in-person days
Despite widespread remote learning during the pandemic, New Jersey currently recognizes virtual instruction only under limited emergency conditions — generally after three consecutive closure days approved by the state.
“You have to be closed three consecutive days in a row, and then you go to the state,” Treece said. “They’re just not recognizing it until we get to three consecutive days.”
The policy reflects state concerns that districts might otherwise rely too heavily on remote days.
With April 6, May 21, and May 22 now confirmed as in-person days, the updated calendar ensures Hopewell Valley will meet state instructional requirements while preserving the planned June end-of-year schedule.
