Should kids go back to school in the middle of August? Is it a good idea to have classes on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week? Should Winter Break continue to be consolidated into two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s Day or should it be divided between December and January?
The administrators and board members of School District U46 want the opinions of parents, employees and students on questions like these as they put together a calendar listing which days will have classes, vacations, teacher training days, etc. during the school year that will start on Aug. 15, 2016.
Assuming, of course, that the year really does start on Aug. 15.
District CEO Tony Sanders and Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Melanie Meidel presented a tentative 2016-17 calendar to the school board and asked for comment. A final version must be approved by the board members in January.
Board member Jeanette Ward said Aug. 15 is “way too early to start school in my opinion.” Board member Traci O’Neal Ellis said a community survey taken about five years ago found that most people favored starting early enough to allow final exams for the first semester to be taken before Winter Break, yet taking the two weeks of Winter Break all at once in December.
More Top Picks Best Baby Gates For Large Openings
Sanders said it’s also preferable to end classes in May because the district has a contract to use the Sears Center for high school graduations on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend “forever.” If those graduations take place before the end of the school year, he said, the seniors who have already received their diplomas don’t return to class and the consequent drop in attendance costs the district money because state aid is partly based on student attendance.
One thing that would be different from this school year is Nov. 8. Though it’s only two weeks before the proposed weeklong Thanksgiving vacation, it is tentatively shown to be a day off for students while teachers attend training and development events.
Why? Nov. 8 will be Election Day, Meidel said. She said 17 of the schools are polling places, and some people are worried about the safety of allowing strangers into schools while children are present. Partly because of that, students would not get off Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, and teachers would not get off Wednesday of that week, as they do this year.
For students, Winter Break would last from Monday, Dec. 19 through Monday, Jan. 2, though teachers would have to come back for an “institute day” on Jan. 2.
Spring Break for 2017 would be Monday, March 27 through Friday, March 31 — two full weeks before Easter. However, Good Friday would be a vacation day named “Spring Holiday” on April 14.
This school year, in 2016, Easter falls much earlier in the year, on March 27, and Spring Holiday on Friday, March 25 is followed by the weeklong Spring Break the five days after Easter.
For students, the 2016-17 school year would end May 19 if no snow days are used. However, teachers would have to return for institute/school improvement days on Monday through Wednesday of the following week.
To see the proposed calendar and make comments about it, go to www.u-46.org and click on “2016-2017 Draft District Calendar” on the left side of the home page.