Would you rather have finals week after winter break? Or have school start after Labor Day? Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has released a fall survey allowing all students to give their input on the prospective academic calendar for the upcoming two years.

The survey will be accepting responses until Wednesday, November 26. It should take 5-10 minutes to complete. You can access the fall survey using this link.

A School Administrator’s Perspective On The Survey

Principal Stuber shared her insights on the survey. Due to the mixed opinions about the calendar schedule last year, she says, “This would be a good opportunity to fill out the survey in that regard.” 

Dr. Stuber says, “It really is an opportunity for you to use your voice to share your perspective…because once [CPS] commit[s] to it, it is a commitment…this is our only opportunity to speak out.” Filling out the fall survey is a simple way to get involved in CPS decision making.

Students’ Perspective on the Survey

The Hoofbeat sent out a questionnaire to collect student feedback on the CPS fall survey. The results are as follows:

• 64.7% of students have not heard about the fall survey.
• 42.9% would definitely want school starting the week of Labor Day (September 7th, 2026) instead of two weeks prior.
• 77.1% of students would definitely want no school for the entirety of Thanksgiving week (November 26th, 2026) instead of just Thursday and Friday.
• 60% of students value spring break being at the mid-point of the second semester

When answering the question of if students would change anything about the academic calendar, around 29% of the respondents had concerns about the school year starting too early, or summer being too short.

 When asking Carlos Munoz, a Northside junior, if he had heard of the survey, he said, “I read about it, but it was so brief…that I forgot about it until you just mentioned it.” He also stated if he had been more aware of the contents of the survey he would have taken time to fill it out. 

Eden Weiss, a Northside junior, said “I think that it’s really important to have…the students’ input and the faculty’s input… Because if just…the higher ups are making the schedule…[i]t’s harder for them to consider how certain scheduling is actually going to end [up] schools.”

Mark Cruz, a Northside Senior, shared that he values consistency in schedule a lot, saying he “think[s] it’s important because…whenever the schedule changes from what it normally is, like last year taking finals…, a lot of people were mad at that.”

It is important that this survey is being seen by students, faculty, and community members throughout CPS, as this short survey gives students the opportunity to have their voices heard.

Take 5-10 minutes to fill out the fall survey to give input into what the academic calendar will look like for the next two years.