New to FCPS - what was the rationale for starting and ending school a week early?

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me what happened that made the school board decide this was a good idea? What's the difference between one more week of summer in June vs. August? It's still summer.

[Anonymous]

There are various reasons.

1. When you start after labor day, you don't end until the 23rd-ish of June. That is quite late.

2. The high school crowd has fixed dates for national tests. If your HS students start 2-4 weeks later than other HS students (in other districts or states), they are at a disadvantage b/c the AP tests and SATs are set on certain dates for everyone in the US.

3. When you start after Labor Day, that is sometimes Sept. 7th or 8th... again, quite late. The whole "back to school" mindset is in August. In the meantime, we are all just waiting to get back to school.

4. Older students can end up missing out on summer internships and other summer programs b/c they aren't getting out of school until June 23. Lots of high schools get out in mid-to-late May, so college have programs and employers are seeking those who are available in June.

5. Teachers (and students) seem to check out when the calendar say June 1st. June = "summer" mindset. The later in June you go, the more time that is just wasted. Late August = "back to school" mindset. Time is used more productively in late August than in June.

You can argue against any of these, but these were things that some people liked.

Fact was, 2/3rds of all school districts in VA had (and probably still have) a waiver to start BEFORE Labor Day. So, it UNusual to wait until After Labor Day.

[Anonymous]

Superintendent worked 5 years in another county where school year ended in early-mid June. Came here and was shocked we were still in school after mid June.

I seriously heard him share this at a community meeting.

[Anonymous]

21:35 listed good reasons for starting before Labor Day.

The most repeated reason for not starting before Labor Day was cheaper rates at the beach because other school systems started earlier. Another reason was traditional family plans for Labor Day.

I think 21:35's list is more substantial. To me, late June was ridiculous for getting out of school. Ideally, to me, school should start after Labor Day and end Memorial Day.

[Anonymous]

One school board member who was against it kept talking about how it is so much hotter in late Aug. than in mid June (which is not true based on historical data); and she also talked about how it would be a burden on those who have swim team practice that doesn't end until late July and then fall sports would end up starting in early Aug -- so families wouldn't get a chance for vacation. Yes, she actually said that her kid(s) got 5's on the AP calculus test even though they didn't start the class until after Labor Day, so we shouldn't worry about kids who think they might benefit from having an extra week prior to the nationally-set AP Calc test date.

One or two board members from zones that have some of the lowest performing schools asked if their schools could start TWO weeks early even if other FCPS schools started only one week prior to Labor Day.

Bottom line -- those who have pool memberships (and those concerned about the financial health of their pool corporation) + those who have beach properties + those who like to use the last week of Aug. to get lower rates for beach properties ---> wanted school to start after Labor Day.

Those who wanted to give students more time in class before tests, or less time in school AFTER nationally-set tests, or more time in summer to get useful programs/jobs ---> wanted school to start before Labor Day.

Which one do YOU think should be the priority of the school board????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

5. Teachers (and students) seem to check out when the calendar say June 1st. June = "summer" mindset. The later in June you go, the more time that is just wasted. Late August = "back to school" mindset. Time is used more productively in late August than in June.

This is true. I have worked in a system that gets out at Memorial Day and late June and very strongly prefer getting out earlier. It’s easier to go back early than get out late.

[Anonymous]

There is really no reason except that some people thought it was better to be in school in August rather than later in June for personal preference. I think there was misconception on the public’s part on the benefits of starting earlier when it went through.

Really the August start schedule only possibly helps with kids taking AP tests with set dates, & that said, the common app is always released on 8/1 so starting school earlier leaves them less time to work on the app while not in school so I wonder if it’s a wash either way in the end for these kids.

The SAT and ACT are offered 7x a year so school start date shouldn’t matter. Any time gained before one test date would be time taken from another.

There was a misconception that starting earlier would allow more time before the SOL but that was proven to be untrue this year when the SOL test dates were moved up a week to correspond with starting a week earlier, yielding the same amount of “wasted” time at the end of year either way. Turns out they were already back loaded as much as possible under the Labor Day start, which makes sense given that the SOL is a VA state test and the Labor Day start is a Va law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:35 listed good reasons for starting before Labor Day.

The most repeated reason for not starting before Labor Day was cheaper rates at the beach because other school systems started earlier. Another reason was traditional family plans for Labor Day.

I think 21:35's list is more substantial. To me, late June was ridiculous for getting out of school. Ideally, to me, school should start after Labor Day and end Memorial Day.

The way to solve this problem would be to make winter break one week instead of two. No-one needs two weeks off for Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is really no reason except that some people thought it was better to be in school in August rather than later in June for personal preference. I think there was misconception on the public’s part on the benefits of starting earlier when it went through.

Really the August start schedule only possibly helps with kids taking AP tests with set dates, & that said, the common app is always released on 8/1 so starting school earlier leaves them less time to work on the app while not in school so I wonder if it’s a wash either way in the end for these kids.

The SAT and ACT are offered 7x a year so school start date shouldn’t matter. Any time gained before one test date would be time taken from another.

There was a misconception that starting earlier would allow more time before the SOL but that was proven to be untrue this year when the SOL test dates were moved up a week to correspond with starting a week earlier, yielding the same amount of “wasted” time at the end of year either way. Turns out they were already back loaded as much as possible under the Labor Day start, which makes sense given that the SOL is a VA state test and the Labor Day start is a Va law.

Yes to the above.
AP rules the roost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One school board member who was against it kept talking about how it is so much hotter in late Aug. than in mid June (which is not true based on historical data); and she also talked about how it would be a burden on those who have swim team practice that doesn't end until late July and then fall sports would end up starting in early Aug -- so families wouldn't get a chance for vacation. Yes, she actually said that her kid(s) got 5's on the AP calculus test even though they didn't start the class until after Labor Day, so we shouldn't worry about kids who think they might benefit from having an extra week prior to the nationally-set AP Calc test date.

One or two board members from zones that have some of the lowest performing schools asked if their schools could start TWO weeks early even if other FCPS schools started only one week prior to Labor Day.

Bottom line -- those who have pool memberships (and those concerned about the financial health of their pool corporation) + those who have beach properties + those who like to use the last week of Aug. to get lower rates for beach properties ---> wanted school to start after Labor Day.

Those who wanted to give students more time in class before tests, or less time in school AFTER nationally-set tests, or more time in summer to get useful programs/jobs ---> wanted school to start before Labor Day.

Which one do YOU think should be the priority of the school board????

Honestly, I think there should be less testing, so all this wouldn't even be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:35 listed good reasons for starting before Labor Day.

The most repeated reason for not starting before Labor Day was cheaper rates at the beach because other school systems started earlier. Another reason was traditional family plans for Labor Day.

I think 21:35's list is more substantial. To me, late June was ridiculous for getting out of school. Ideally, to me, school should start after Labor Day and end Memorial Day.

The way to solve this problem would be to make winter break one week instead of two. No-one needs two weeks off for Christmas.

The teacher contract is 14 days longer than the student calendar. 6 of those days fall within the student calendar, so that lengthens it a bit too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Superintendent worked 5 years in another county where school year ended in early-mid June. Came here and was shocked we were still in school after mid June.

I seriously heard him share this at a community meeting.

You say that as if such an admission is appalling.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City starts after Labor Day and got out June 15 this year and gets out June 14 next year. Winter Break is shorter than FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what happened that made the school board decide this was a good idea? What's the difference between one more week of summer in June vs. August? It's still summer.

It is a great idea.

They need to bump it one week earlier so the students are out early June.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One school board member who was against it kept talking about how it is so much hotter in late Aug. than in mid June (which is not true based on historical data); and she also talked about how it would be a burden on those who have swim team practice that doesn't end until late July and then fall sports would end up starting in early Aug -- so families wouldn't get a chance for vacation. Yes, she actually said that her kid(s) got 5's on the AP calculus test even though they didn't start the class until after Labor Day, so we shouldn't worry about kids who think they might benefit from having an extra week prior to the nationally-set AP Calc test date.

One or two board members from zones that have some of the lowest performing schools asked if their schools could start TWO weeks early even if other FCPS schools started only one week prior to Labor Day.

Bottom line -- those who have pool memberships (and those concerned about the financial health of their pool corporation) + those who have beach properties + those who like to use the last week of Aug. to get lower rates for beach properties ---> wanted school to start after Labor Day.

Those who wanted to give students more time in class before tests, or less time in school AFTER nationally-set tests, or more time in summer to get useful programs/jobs ---> wanted school to start before Labor Day.

Which one do YOU think should be the priority of the school board????

Honestly, I think there should be less testing, so all this wouldn't even be an issue.

It will be when your kid gets to high school.

Also, many summer programs start while fcps is still in session. Most of the rest of the country gets out in May.