The school calendar dates have been set for Whitehorse schools for the next school year.

Whitehorse schools will start the day after Discovery Day, on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018 and finish on Friday, June 14, 2019.

The school year will be 180 days long, with the Christmas and March breaks each being two weeks long.

Non-instructional days, also known as “professional development” days, will be added after they are confirmed by school councils and administrators early in 2018.

The next three years of calendars for Whitehorse schools are being finalized.

They will be published during the 2018 spring term to assist families and staff with their planning.

Four years of calendars for schools in Yukon communities are being finalized with school communities and will be published in early 2018.

School calendars are designed to support the learning needs of students, the Department of Education said this week.

Feedback from the recent public survey and the preferences of school communities and staff are also considered.

“Our thanks to all of the survey participants who shared their preferences and ideas for how the school year should be shaped,” said Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee.

“We’re pleased to be developing calendars that focus on supporting student learning and balance the desires of students, families and our Whitehorse school communities.”

Feedback from the survey, conducted between Aug. 22 and Oct. 16, indicated that 51 per cent of respondents prefer a balance between the length of the school day and the length of the school year.

Balancing the lengths of the summer, winter and March school breaks can support the retention of learning, the department said.

Whitehorse survey respondents preferred two-week winter (46 per cent) and March breaks (54 per cent).

Rural school calendars for 2018-19 through 2021-22 will be based upon the unique needs of each school and will be finalized in the new year.

Calendars for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years for Whitehorse schools will also be finalized this winter.

The Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon sets the school calendars for École Émilie-Tremblay and Académie Parhélie, with the school calendar dates for other Whitehorse schools taken into account.