GA school calendar change- extend summer break? (Atlanta, Forsyth: daycare, how much)

[Go Blue 99]

I know this story is a few months but I just caught wind of it:

https://www.wabe.org/lawmakers-propo...ool-calendars/

It sounds like they would extend summer break, but eliminate fall break and shorten other vacations. How realistic is this? Would each individual county have power to reject it?

[CaliDreaming01]

I really hope this idea goes nowhere. No one is going to be completely happy with the school calendar. The good thing about the "balanced" school calendar is that kids lose less of the material they learn. For me, that is enough of a reason to keep the status quo. Tourism industry be damned.

[ATLTJL]

August 1st is way too early to go back to school.

If our education system was halfway decent, it would be able to teach students adequately while also giving them 3 months off during the summer.

They should have ample time to travel, get summer jobs, and learn about life. Teachers should also have time to recharge, pursue interests, conduct research, sharpen their skills or get second jobs if they'd like to.

Even if it makes some parents bellyache about losing a few days of taxpayer subsidized babysitting.

[CaliDreaming01]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

August 1st is way too early to go back to school.

If our education system was halfway decent, it would be able to teach students adequately while also giving them 3 months off during the summer.

They should have ample time to travel, get summer jobs, and learn about life. Teachers should also have time to recharge, pursue interests, conduct research, sharpen their skills or get second jobs if they'd like to.

Even if it makes some parents bellyache about losing a few days of taxpayer subsidized babysitting.

No one loses any "taxpayer subsidized babysitting" even with a longer break over the summer. With the status quo, the kids have more frequent, longer breaks throughout the school year. I resent the implication that this is just about "babysitting" and not education. Trust, there are parents who are "belllyaching" over the current schedule. One of the few positives of all the testing that kids have to undergo these days is that educators can objectively measure how much of the material is lost over breaks. Kids lose less material with the breaks spread out over the school year.

Two months is ample time for vacation. Also, for those parents who don't think two months is enough, there are plenty of opportunities for vacation during the school year.

[BR Valentine]

Originally Posted by CaliDreaming01

I really hope this idea goes nowhere. No one is going to be completely happy with the school calendar. The good thing about the "balanced" school calendar is that kids lose less of the material they learn. For me, that is enough of a reason to keep the status quo. Tourism industry be damned.

There is nothing remotely close to research consensus that a balanced calendar improves educational outcomes. Moreover the primary driver of this schedule isn’t that issue anyway.

It’s primarily about getting in as many instructional days as possible before the state tests. Many districts, Forsyth is one of them, are obsessed with having high school students take exams before the winter holidays too. Consequently you have to start in August to get in a full semester before Christmas. A balanced calendar could just as easily run mid-August to mid-June but that isn’t the case because the testing schedule is what drives the school calendar, not other considerations. That said, I agree with you that school calendars shouldn’t be dictated by the tourism industry.

Originally Posted by CaliDreaming01

No one loses any "taxpayer subsidized babysitting" even with a longer break over the summer. With the status quo, the kids have more frequent, longer breaks throughout the school year. I resent the implication that this is just about "babysitting" and not education. Trust, there are parents who are "belllyaching" over the current schedule. One of the few positives of all the testing that kids have to undergo these days is that educators can objectively measure how much of the material is lost over breaks. Kids lose less material with the breaks spread out over the school year.

Two months is ample time for vacation. Also, for those parents who don't think two months is enough, there are plenty of opportunities for vacation during the school year.

The bolded part isn’t accurate. The issue of “summer slump” was already well-known long before the current test mania started. You don’t need the absurd number of state tests administered to measure it.

August 1 (some districts actually go back in July) is too early to start.

[CaliDreaming01]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

There is nothing remotely close to research consensus that a balanced calendar improves educational outcomes. Moreover the primary driver of this schedule isn’t that issue anyway.

It’s primarily about getting in as many instructional days as possible before the state tests. Many districts, Forsyth is one of them, are obsessed with having high school students take exams before the winter holidays too. Consequently you have to start in August to get in a full semester before Christmas. A balanced calendar could just as easily run mid-August to mid-June but that isn’t the case because the testing schedule is what drives the school calendar, not other considerations. That said, I agree with you that school calendars shouldn’t be dictated by the tourism industry.



The bolded part isn’t accurate. The issue of “summer slump” was already well-known long before the current test mania started. You don’t need the absurd number of state tests administered to measure it.

August 1 (some districts actually go back in July) is too early to start.

Well even though we're not agreeing on the educational benefits, I'm glad that we can agree that the tourism industry shouldn't be calling the shots.

On my end, I respect that there is a huge difference of opinion on this in the research community. I will just say based on what I have observed with my daughter, I think the status quo is best for her. A lot more is expected of even the youngest elementary school children. I don't agree with all the testing and I don't really agree with pushing young kids so hard. Young kids learn the most through play and I think all of the increased academic rigor is counterproductive. But since this is where we're at as a society and it doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon, "balanced" school schedules are a necessary evil to help kids keep up.

As far as cramming things in before Christmas, I think that is a welcome change. I remember being in high school and being so stressed out about exams I couldn't even really enjoy the holidays. Things are way more competitive than they were 30 years ago, so I couldn't imagine going back to having exams after break that just so kids can go to school in early September rather than early August.

What exactly is the reason so many prefer a September rather than an August start? I know some complain about the heat in August but it stays pretty hot well into October in GA. I'm not sure I am fully informed about the other side of the argument.

[sedimenjerry]

I don't see what's so wrong with a clear two months off (June/July), almost 5 months of instruction (A-D), a couple of weeks right at New Years, and then almost 5 months of instruction (J-M). I remember talking to people in Pennsylvania and they took their final exams for Fall semester after the holiday break in January which just doesn't make sense to me. Even the most studious aren't going to be studying for 1-2 weeks straight. And two months is plenty of summer vacation. Unless families are very wealthy, they aren't going to cram another beach vacation in if summer vacation is expanded.

A lot of northern schools run from Labor day to sometime in mid-late June which makes sense with the weather (spare me the harvest season story, it's not the 1700s anymore). A place like Boston's average high in June is a measly 76. That's barely warmer than Atlanta's April. That's classic spring weather. July and August are right around 80 and the true "summer" months up there. Then it's down to just 72 by September right as schools start back. When you already don't get very warm in the summer time, it makes sense to save summer break for the two warmest months. In Atlanta, it really doesn't matter. June is already plenty warm to go to the pool, the beach, lakes, whatever. You can get the same experience in June as in August. In Boston on June 4th last year, the high was just 53 degrees. In Atlanta it was 85 (with the day before hitting 92).


Oh and AP tests! They're always in early May. Once you take the test, you're basically done. Technically, the teacher may want to have some assignments for the actual course grade, but there's never any new information, because you already took the AP test itself which dictates what to actually cover. I know that's just a small portion of the overall student body from K-12, but it's definitely an advantage.


Also forgot to mention that many colleges have the August to May schedule already but with a slightly longer break. Even in Pennsylvania for grad school we started in late August (no different than Texas A&M when I was there), semester ended in December. Started back around MLK Day, ended early-mid May (just like A&M). Having school end by Memorial day weekend actually can give a longer summer break and allows for any college programs that may start in June. Summer classes or intro programs, etc.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

Many districts, Forsyth is one of them, are obsessed with having high school students take exams before the winter holidays too. Consequently you have to start in August to get in a full semester before Christmas.

As a high school student, this was a good idea.

[Citykid3785]

As a parent, I enjoy the frequent breaks in favor of a shorter summer, as it gives us better vacation opportunities. That said, my wife stays at home so dealing with the question of how to find someone to watch our child suddenly isn't an issue for us. But I can imagine my opinion would be different if we needed to find random daycare for all the weeks off

[whodean]

Agreed. Starting 2 weeks later in August would be nice, but here in Cobb, the fall and winter week long breaks are nice. I didn't fully appreciate that until my son started kinder, but a break every 6 weeks or so is good.

There are quite a few week long camp options during the breaks here for the working parents during the time their kids would usually be in school.