Ad
LOS LUNAS — The School of Dreams Academy Governing Council unanimously approved its academic calendar for 2025-26 at its regular meeting on April 14 while also highlighting accomplishments at the regular May meeting.
During the May 12 meeting, the council unanimously approved the school’s 2025-26 budget and moved its regular June meeting to Monday, June 23.
Approved in April, the 2025-26 calendar exceeds the state-mandated 180-day schedule by one day. The calendar also surpasses the mandated 1,140 hours of instruction by 30 hours, for 1,170 hours.
SODA Superintendent Mike Ogas added that despite the increases, the charter’s school days will decrease by 30 minutes each day.
“We’ve noticed what I would call the negative effects of having as much time each day and as many days on our calendar,” Ogas explained in the April meeting. “In being able to retain staff as well as being able to retain some of our students.”
SODA will observe all national holidays and will give students and staff a full week off for Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-28) and spring break (March 16–20) as well as two full weeks for the winter holiday (Dec. 22-31 and Jan. 1-5).
The school will also have a two-day April Break — Friday, April 3, and Monday, April 5.
The school year will begin with seniors starting on Friday, Aug. 1, and grades kindergarten through 11 starting on Monday, Aug. 4.
The final day for students — a half-day) will be Friday, May 22, 2026, which is the Friday before Memorial Day.
“As a group, we’ve decided to reduce the amount of time both in days and hours to help try to give some of that time back to the family and the community rather than having them,” Ogas said, later pointing out that the school day will remain a 7-hour block and staff will still work an 8-hour day.
Ad
The start and end times for instruction are still being discussed, he concluded.
The calendar was approved by a 3-0 vote.
Ogas also announced that SODA’s Early College High School designation was re-approved by the New Mexico Public Education Department for an additional five years.
He said he has also had signed a memorandum of understanding with New Mexico Tech in Socorro to reach a total of three state colleges the school has partnered with, the others being UNM-Valencia Campus and Central New Mexico Community College.
“We are also awaiting an agreement with New Mexico State, and we are in discussions with Western New Mexico University,” Ogas said. “Basically what we’re doing, and all of those will be on-line options. We are bringing in the best types of programs that each school offers, and offering them to our students who are part of the early college model.
“Many students have and will continue to receive associate degrees in certain areas,” Ogas said.
