Do you have problems with school calendar?
Maybe you think summer vacation is too short. Maybe you think there are too many breaks during the year. Maybe you think we have too many half days. (The elementary schools each have 7 this year. And, apparently, these count as a full day in the “180 days of school calendar”.)
Or do you think the school calendar is ideal and shouldn’t be messed with?
Whatever your opinion, if you want to weigh in on possible changes to the school calendar, you have the opportunity this fall.
In the school district’s newsletter this August, Superintendent Charles Gobron invited parents, students, and others to join a “School Calendar Study Group”. The intent is to examine best practices and determine the best schedule for the 2014-15 school year and forward.
He noted his personal issue with the calendar as the frequent interruptions at the start of the year “when learning is optimal” and the lack of breaks towards the end “when good weather and full schedules can result in some distraction.”
If you are interested in weighing in, you can join the group by emailing email@example.com.
The full excerpt from the newsletter is below:
School Calendar Study Group
Last spring I announced that we would be forming a school calendar study group this fall. I want to include parents, teachers, administrators, students, school committee and community members in a comprehensive examination of our current school calendar as well as practices currently happening in other school districts in Massachusetts. It would be great if this group could make a presentation and a recommendation to a combined meeting of the school committees in January (or February at the latest) so that a new calendar can be in effect for the 2014-2015 school year. Most of us have our own ideas about what would constitute an ideal calendar, so coming to consensus may be a challenge. I have been concerned that we have a good deal of interrupted schooling during the first three months of school (September, October, and November) when learning is optimal, and then have mostly five-day uninterrupted time in the months of May and June when good weather and full schedules can result in some distraction. Several people have expressed interest in serving on this study group. If you have an interest in this topic and have not already contacted me, please send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org.