School calendar dates

Who participated

• 1,690 responses to the survey
• 76 per cent said they were parents or guardians of students who attend Yukon public schools
• 21 per cent were school staff members
• 3 per cent were students
• 2 per cent were other community members
• 86 per cent of respondents lived in the Whitehorse area

It is important to note that this summary does not break down the difference between Whitehorse and rural respondents. Please view the full report to see the difference in opinion between Whitehorse and rural respondents.

School start and end dates

School start dates had mixed opinions, with later start dates being slightly preferred:

• 27 per cent want school to start on the Tuesday after Discovery Day in August and end the second week of June
• 27 per cent were no preference
• 23 per cent want school to start on the last Monday in August and end the second or third week of June
• 21 per cent want school to start on the Tuesday after Labour Day in September and end the third or fourth week of June
• 13 per cent want school to start the second week of August and end the first week of June
• 13 per cent want school to start the first week of August and end the first week of May

Semester change

The most popular opinion was that the semester change should occur at the end of January:

• 39 per cent want the semester to change at the end of January (which is currently the way schools operate in Yukon)
• 34 per cent selected no preference
• 27 per cent want the semester to change at Christmas

Length of school days and summer break

There was very little support for a longer school year:

• 50 per cent prefer a balance between the shortest and longest length of the school day 
• 37 per cent prefer a longer school day and a shorter school year
• 11 per cent prefer a shorter school day and a longer school year
• 3 per cent selected no preference

Timing of winter break

The most preferred option was to maintain a two-week long winter break:

• 46 per cent preferred a two-week winter break no matter what day of the week December 21 falls on
• 25 per cent preferred to add the remaining weekdays to the winter break when December 21st lands in the middle of the week
• 21 per cent preferred to limit the winter break to December 21 to January 2 only

Length of spring break

The most preferred opinion was to maintain a two-week long spring break every year.

• 51 per cent preferred a two-week long spring break for every school year
• 26 per cent preferred a one-week long spring break
• 16 per cent preferred a one-week long spring break, except during years with the Arctic or Canada Winter Games, in which case it should be two-weeks long

Note: rural respondents slightly preferred a one-week long spring break (see full report).

Exploring a balanced school year

Slightly more respondents did not want the Government of Yukon to explore a balanced school year option:

• 46 per cent said no to exploring a balanced school year option after 2021/22
• 41 per cent said yes to exploring a balanced school year option after 2021/22