Planning calendar
When to run a cohort.
A month-by-month calendar for running a VIBE cohort in fall or spring. Built to fit any US school system and its breaks. Pick the semester that works for your school and slot in the twelve weeks around your local holidays.
Months, not dates.
School calendars vary across districts. Labor Day, fall break, Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and end-of-year testing all land on different weeks in different districts. This calendar plans by month and builds in buffer, so you can fit twelve weeks of programming around your school's schedule without stress.
Twelve active weeks
The program runs for twelve weekly sessions, ideally 60 to 75 minutes long each (45 minutes at the minimum).
About sixteen calendar weeks
Plan for the program to span roughly four months, giving you buffer for breaks and weather days.
Showcase before break
Fall cohorts finish before winter break. Spring cohorts finish before end-of-year testing and summer.
Fall cohort
September through DecemberIdeal for schools that want a public showcase before winter break. Start the week after Labor Day. Finish by mid-December.
Early September
Confirm tools with IT, collect parent consents, and brief any guides you have lined up. Reserve the room and the time.
First build, then learn to iterate. Students make something with AI in their first session.
First and second outside-perspective sessions (guides if available, real-practitioner clips if not). Brainstorm and scope. Every student has an approved project by end of month.
First working version, then core features, then midpoint review. Skip Thanksgiving week.
Feature complete, showcase prep, and public showcase. Aim to wrap by the second week of December.
- Labor Day (first Monday in September) is a useful prep moment, since most schools use the week before program week 1 for setup.
- Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day (second Monday in October) is a holiday some districts take the entire week off for, so plan accordingly.
- Thanksgiving week (fourth week of November) is one to skip entirely, and it works well as a built-in buffer week.
- Winter break usually starts around December 20, so plan to hold the showcase at least a week before that.
Spring cohort
February through MayIdeal for schools that want a spring showcase before end-of-year testing and summer break. Start in February after schedules settle post-winter. Finish by mid-May.
Confirm tools with IT, collect parent consents, and brief any guides you have lined up. Reserve the room and the time.
First build, learn to iterate, first outside-perspective session (guide visit or real-practitioner clip). Students make something with AI on day one.
Second outside-perspective session, brainstorm, and scope. Spring break often falls in this window, so simply skip the week if your district has one.
Four consecutive build sprints. First working version through feature complete.
Showcase prep and public showcase. Wrap by mid-May, well before end-of-year testing and summer break.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January) is the main reason the spring program starts in February rather than late January.
- Presidents Day (third Monday in February) is another holiday some districts take the entire week off for.
- Spring break varies by district and usually lands in late March or early April, so skip that week and let it serve as a buffer.
- Easter and Good Friday dates vary by year, and some districts close around them, so check your local calendar.
- End-of-year testing and summer break arrive in late May or early June, so the showcase should happen comfortably before testing ramps up.
Picking your start date.
These are the questions every advisor works through before week 1. Most of them are district-specific.
Check your district calendar first
Pull your school's academic calendar and mark every non-instructional day. Then pick your twelve session dates around them.
Pick the same day every week
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday usually work best. Monday loses to holidays. Friday loses to events and weekends.
Lock the room first
Reserve your space for all twelve dates before recruiting students. A confirmed room makes everything else easier.
Build in a buffer week
Plan for at least one surprise during the semester, whether that turns out to be weather, a school event, or an illness. A thirteenth available slot in your calendar means a session can slip without breaking the showcase.
Confirm guide dates early
Guides for weeks 3, 4, and 9 are your most important recruits. Book them at least three weeks out so they can put it on their calendar.
Announce the showcase early
Families need at least two weeks of notice to attend. Send save-the-date invitations by week 8 at the latest.
This calendar pairs with the session-by-session curriculum. The curriculum tells you what happens in each session; this page tells you when to run them.