Texas-sized summer breaks
Here it is, Aug. 20, two weeks before Labor Day, and lots of children already have headed back to school (including the ones who live in my house). People of a certain age recall fondly when summer would drag on through the end of August, and school wouldn’t resume until Jerry Lewis had belted out “When You Walk Through a Storm” to wrap up another telethon.
A lot of factors are responsible for the calendar creep: renewed emphasis on maximizing instructional time, the addition of in-service days for teachers, a desire to end the first semester before a school’s winter break, the availability of air conditioning that makes August school days bearable.
Deep in the heart of Texas, lawmakers decided to do something about their eroding summer vacations. A new law, effective this year, says school districts can’t begin the year before the fourth Monday of August (that’s the 27th this year). Charter schools and schools with year-round calendars aren’t bound by the regulation, but for most kids, that means at least one more week of vacation.
Should states require school districts to open later, or should local districts be able to decide which date works best for their communities?
August 21st, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
A reader from Texas writes:
“Local school districts should be in position to determine what is the best start date for their community. Fort Worth Independent School District (80,000 students) had a combination of several start dates depending on the school program/emphasis.
Year Round Program, and Special Needs had earlier start (and later completion) dates with more breaks during the term. Traditional Program would start in mid-August and finish in early-mid May.
The only time I disliked the Year Round Program was when I had children in both Year Round and Traditional programs and Year Round was not completed when Traditional did in May.
Overall I preferred the Year Round Program that was offered on several campuses. Longer breaks during the year allowed for enrichment opportunities not found in the Traditional program.”
August 21st, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
A reader from Missouri writes:
“Summer vacation: Start June 1, end Aug. 31.”
August 21st, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
An administrator from Ohio writes:
“Local or regional considerations should be key. These bills are often pushed by the recreation lobby that loses its customers and help. Educational reasons are not considered.”