By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Students in Alabaster’s schools will attend classes the same days as their Shelby County School System counterparts during the 2013-2014 school year if the city breaks away from county schools in July.

“We’ve said all along we want to mirror Shelby County our first year as much as possible,” Alabaster Interim School Superintendent Dr. Phillip Hammonds said during an April 22 Alabaster School Board work session.

In the recently approved Shelby County Schools calendar, students will start the school year on Aug. 19, and will break for Christmas on Dec. 20. First semester holidays include Labor Day on Sept. 2, Veterans Day on Nov. 11 and Thanksgiving from Nov. 27-29.

The second semester will begin on Jan. 6, 2014, and students will get out for summer on May 23, 2014. Second semester holidays include Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 20, 2014 and spring break from March 24-28, 2014.

The only change could come for teachers, as Hammonds suggested the Alabaster School Board consider moving the May 27-28, 2014 teacher work days to the summer.

Hammonds encouraged the board to instead require the teachers to put in the two work days sometime between July 1-Aug. 9, 2014.

“So many of our teachers are already coming in to work during the summer,” Hammonds said. “I think this would be a very positive thing to try.”

To view the full 2013-2014 calendar, visit Alabasterschools.org.