The 2020-2021 school year began the increased implementation of Teacher/Professional Workdays due to lost educational time from the Coronavirus-19 quarantine. As of the 2025-2026 school year, the amount of Professional and Teacher Workdays has significantly increased. Teacher/Professional workdays are known as non-student workdays that allow teachers and staff to develop, achieve and or complete work amongst their teams. The amount of Teacher/Professional workdays has gradually increased as the school years progress. Discussion about CFISD’s school calendar has raised inquiries on why our district proceeds with these holidays and how it impacts students, staff, and administrators.
“Students benefit from Teacher workdays because it allows teachers extra time to plan and provide additional feedback on work that they’ve turned in. Overall, it provides a much better learning environment for them,” Dixon said.
The United States has participated in Teacher/Professional workdays since the 19th century, but they’ve significantly increased since the ‘60s. Teacher/Professional workdays began as part of efforts to improve the quality and organization of education in the United States during the mid-20th century. In the early 1900s, teachers had little official time set aside for grading, lesson planning, or training, which made their workload overwhelming. As education systems grew and became more standardized, school leaders recognized the need to give teachers dedicated time to prepare lessons, complete administrative work, and participate in professional development. This idea gained momentum after World War II, especially during the ‘50s and ‘60s, when educational reform movements and laws like the “National Defense Education Act” encouraged better teacher training. Over time, schools began adding “in-service” or “teacher/professional workdays” to the calendar, ensuring teachers specific days to focus on planning and improvement without students present…