August Start for Private Schools (to build in a snow day reserve)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though our school starts before Labor Day, I wish it wouldn't. I think it's a joke to come to school for 3 days, then take a 3 day weekend. Just finish the summer. Now, if you want to propose shifting the AP exams two weeks later, I'd be all over that!

Unfortunately, the AP College Board will not support the change, and other students are well-prepared by then since they don't have all those excessive missed days.

Based on this thread I am convinced that we private school parents are a complacent lot who are satisfied with the minimum number of required school days, no questions asked and no accountability desired. Just happy to fork over the money and not ask any questions. Here is my advice to the private schools: throw in more vacations and a later start date to save on administrative and physical plant expenses, but continue to increase tuition -- we don't seem to care much either way (and I could use the extra time to spend with the little ones at my second house in Aspen).

I am convinced that you are a nut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, because we don't agree with you we are complacent and don't really care about education? Has it ever occurred to you that other points of view can actually be well-reasoned, but simply different?

Not because you don't agree with the original poster, but because so much of this thread focuses on how we parents do not want to adopt anything that may inconvenience our vacations -- even if it may benefit our children's education. It is really such a reflexive, NIMBY, anti-intellectual position, and I can get that sort of argument, but with better weather, in California.

[Anonymous]

You are the only one mentioning vacations. The beauty of private school is that you may choose whichever suits you and your family. So choose one that suits you. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though our school starts before Labor Day, I wish it wouldn't. I think it's a joke to come to school for 3 days, then take a 3 day weekend. Just finish the summer. Now, if you want to propose shifting the AP exams two weeks later, I'd be all over that!

Unfortunately, the AP College Board will not support the change, and other students are well-prepared by then since they don't have all those excessive missed days.

Every school in the country would love to have more time for AP prep. I'm on the teacher listservs for 8 of the courses... Snow days place some kids at a real disadvantage for covering the entire body of material. But, I think the 9 month school year is long enough. It is those last few weeks during high school that get wasted. Lots of public school AP courses watch movies every day after the exams.

[Anonymous]

Our school builds in snow days - they more than hit the required amount. In other parts of the country where they do not have snow days, they build in some additional breaks or have shorter days - they do not end up with more school.

[Anonymous]

I think you are totally discounting the value of summer break and what children do learn over the summer. Many work, or travel, or attend camps. They learn some independence, build physical skills, pursue interests, learn responsibility. Some may travel and learn about other cultures. Parents can help children take summer vacation and build it into an opportunity to grow - in confidence, or in interests, or in strengths, but to write it off as dead time shows a complete lack of understanding that LIFE is important. In countries where all they do is book learning, their test scores are through the roof, but they are learning they lack the creativity and flexibility to innovate. Test scores are NOT the only measure of learning.

[Anonymous]

I think the argument can be made that the inevitable snow days should be made up by adding a certain number of days to the beginning of the school calendar, rather than the end of it. Many school districts begin in August, so I am not sure why that is such a controversial proposition on these threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the argument can be made that the inevitable snow days should be made up by adding a certain number of days to the beginning of the school calendar, rather than the end of it. Many school districts begin in August, so I am not sure why that is such a controversial proposition on these threads.

Why are YOU obsessed (enough to start two threads) when these kids do well on every metric? (APs, board scores, college performance) Don't be surprised that people aren't joining your campaign for a "solution" when there's no agreement that there's any sort of a problem?

[Anonymous]

School should start IN SEPTEMBER. Go to public school if you want to start earlier. Don't ruin summer for the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the argument can be made that the inevitable snow days should be made up by adding a certain number of days to the beginning of the school calendar, rather than the end of it. Many school districts begin in August, so I am not sure why that is such a controversial proposition on these threads.

Why are YOU obsessed (enough to start two threads) when these kids do well on every metric? (APs, board scores, college performance) Don't be surprised that people aren't joining your campaign for a "solution" when there's no agreement that there's any sort of a problem?

Not the OP.

[Anonymous]

Do the private schools in DC perform well on every metric, as one poster just wrote? I have been searching for public info about those metrics in trying to research where my daughter should apply for high school. I would appreciate links to that SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, College Placement information or comparisons among the various schools. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Not sure what most other independent schools had this yr, but it was only three snow days and some delays. Not a huge deal ap all! Keep it after Labor Day, kids are pushed hard I'm school, time off in summer to work on other skills/learning/experience is essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the private schools in DC perform well on every metric, as one poster just wrote? I have been searching for public info about those metrics in trying to research where my daughter should apply for high school. I would appreciate links to that SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, College Placement information or comparisons among the various schools. Thanks in advance.

In the FAQs for applying to private school, in the first post, there's a link to chart with some compiled data. Worth looking at if you care about those sorts of things.

[Anonymous]

Our school started after Labor Day and only took three snow days. No need to change the calendar! Learn to drive in the snow!

[Anonymous]

I love this idea! I am going to market "Snow Days Make You Stupid" T-shirts to capitalize on the growing protest movement.