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It seems odd to me, too, that Thanksgiving break is now a week. All the years I was in school, it was Thursday & Friday, and that was plenty. I don't think the kids need a full week off at the end of November, when they're soon getting two full weeks off in December.
Our Thanksgiving break is usually half day on Wednesday (in-service day for the teachers), Thursday, Friday and Monday (holdover from when we had a lot of hunters in the area - first day of buck in Pennsylvania).
I have to admit that I don't quite understand the "its too hot to go to school" argument. As a Northeasterner I know what a PITA it is to get kids to school during the winter.
In some areas, August is a very hot month. It can be hot here in Colorado, especially earlier in the month. It can also be hot here in CO in September as well! I think the answer is to install air conditioning or some type of heat mitigation in these hotter climates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
Our Thanksgiving break is usually half day on Wednesday (in-service day for the teachers), Thursday, Friday and Monday (holdover from when we had a lot of hunters in the area - first day of buck in Pennsylvania).
LOL, I remember that! My family lived in Bloomsburg for a short time. Coming from the Pittsburgh area, it was a surprise to us (the movie the Deer Hunter notwithstanding). Do they have that Monday off in the Philadelphia area as well?
In some areas, August is a very hot month. It can be hot here in Colorado, especially earlier in the month. It can also be hot here in CO in September as well! I think the answer is to install air conditioning or some type of heat mitigation in these hotter climates.
They do. They have to. A classroom full of kids and without a/c is unbearable when the temps reach 95 or 100...which they do in August, more often than not. I heard that Los Angeles Unified, which starts August 12, is scrambling to repair and replace broken a/c units in time for the start of school.
All that a/c doesn't come cheap. In hotter climates like ours, the cost of a/c (which will absolutely be needed through August and for the first two or three weeks of September) is a major argument in favor of a later school start.
A/C is generally not needed here in May or June at all.
They do. They have to. A classroom full of kids and without a/c is unbearable when the temps reach 95 or 100...which they do in August, more often than not. I heard that Los Angeles Unified, which starts August 12, is scrambling to repair and replace broken a/c units in time for the start of school.
All that a/c doesn't come cheap. In hotter climates like ours, the cost of a/c (which will absolutely be needed through August and for the first two or three weeks of September) is a major argument in favor of a later school start.
A/C is generally not needed here in May or June at all.
Maybe where you are. Here in CO, many, if not most schools do not have A/C. They were built back in that era that said "You don't need air-conditioning in Denver/Colorado". That was the mantra for a long time, and believe me, it was just denial, not that climate change has suddenly made it necessary. (Been here since 1980, summers are no hotter now than then. In fact, that summer of 1981 was one of the hottest I've ever experienced.) My kids' HS was built in the late 90s and does not have A/C throughout, just in a few areas. Ideas have changed since then.
Here, you may need it in June, definitely later June, certainly in August and usually September.
In NW PA, we start mid to late August. I think kids go to school enough, and should have off from Memorial Day through Labor Day. I think we always used to start in September.
I feel like I have it good. School starts 8/28, teachers report on 8/14 for two weeks of in-session work. School ends 6/1. One week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks in December, one week in March. I'm coaching, so we have two short meetings this week and 4 days for camp next week. In all I can't complain, I had too much time off this summer. School ended before June hit this past school year.
Our Thanksgiving break is usually half day on Wednesday (in-service day for the teachers), Thursday, Friday and Monday (holdover from when we had a lot of hunters in the area - first day of buck in Pennsylvania).
My kids have a 1/2 day on Wednesday and off Thursday and Fri back on Monday...which is fine with me!
Maybe where you are. Here in CO, many, if not most schools do not have A/C. They were built back in that era that said "You don't need air-conditioning in Denver/Colorado". That was the mantra for a long time, and believe me, it was just denial, not that climate change has suddenly made it necessary.
Yes, Southern California here. Our hot season is July-September. All inland schools have a/c. Some of the coastal communities have schools without a/c, which was fine when the summer break was mid-June through Labor Day. Now that they're starting early in August, it's become a real problem.
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