Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in NC. Year round middle school started last week. Off for three weeks in October, three in January, three in April and then most of June and part of July.

How is this schedule for families where both parents work outside the home? Everywhere I’ve lived the school break programs are staffed primarily by college students, which wouldn’t work with the Oct/Jan/Apr parts of this schedule.

I think all that grows around the schedule of the local school districts. Camps start and end based on when local kids go back to school. Our pool has hours for school days vs hours for non school days. If you live in a cold climate you may get a winter break that other school districts don't get. Our friends in upstate new york get a 2 week break in February that our kids don't have.

I grew up in WI and still have lots of family and friends there. Public schools can't start until September 1st (depending on when Labor Day falls, schools either start September 1 or the Tuesday after Labor Day). It is due to the tourism industry. Schools generally get out the first week of June.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends in Minnesota started the last week of July. Their summer starts in early May.

That’s unusual. Most MN schools start after Labor Day and end in early to mid June.

Yes- must be a private school. By law, public schools in MN can't start until the day after Labor Day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May and June are the most beautiful months everywhere. I would rather have off then, as either a student or a teacher. July and August are so unpleasant (I cant stand hot weather) I would much rather be inside a cooled building.

I disagree. I like July and August weather better for summer break. In May and early June it’s often still not hot enough to swim where I live whereas july-august it’s always hot enough to swim. The hot weather is my favorite and I would be disappointed if my kids were in school july and august.

I’m a teacher and agree. If I’m not off for the summer that means that I have to fly somewhere to swim and go to the beach, which is prohibitively expensive. I hate the cold and have no desire for additional time off during the worst weather of the year.

Anonymous wrote:May and June are the most beautiful months everywhere. I would rather have off then, as either a student or a teacher. July and August are so unpleasant (I cant stand hot weather) I would much rather be inside a cooled building.

I disagree. I like July and August weather better for summer break. In May and early June it’s often still not hot enough to swim where I live whereas july-august it’s always hot enough to swim. The hot weather is my favorite and I would be disappointed if my kids were in school july and august.

Anonymous wrote:My friends in Minnesota started the last week of July. Their summer starts in early May.

Where in Minnesota? We’re in Minneapolis and school starts the day after Labor Day and gets out mid-June here.

May and June are the most beautiful months everywhere. I would rather have off then, as either a student or a teacher. July and August are so unpleasant (I cant stand hot weather) I would much rather be inside a cooled building.

Another track-loving dual-teacher family here. We are a winter-sports family so having significant time off (3weeks plus weekends) in Jan or Feb is important to us.

Many states have different schedules within the state -- year round or "traditional." As long as kids get 180 days that's what counts.

August is too hot anywhere, anytime so may as well work in the air con.

Most southern schools, like in Georgia, have already started. Being outside in the summer is not fun, so why not go to school then?

I loved it in NC when we would have year round school and we could take vacations when everyone else was in school!

Anonymous wrote:We are in NC. Year round middle school started last week. Off for three weeks in October, three in January, three in April and then most of June and part of July.

I love that.

Over the course of two years, my DD's public school system shifted our schedule from (a) start the Tuesday after Labor Day and end mid/late June to schedule (b) start second to last week of August and end early June.

I much prefer schedule (b), the earlier start, for many reasons:

1) Schedule (b) is better for travel, vacation, and local summer leisure activities because June has better weather than August
2) It's easier for high school kids to get a summer job on schedule (b)
3) Schedule (b) aligns with a lot more camps' schedules (this one is particularly helpful for working parents)
4) Schedule (b) aligns with a lot more local pool schedules
5) Schedule (a) puts high schoolers taking AP exams at a disadvantage in terms of time to prepare for the exams
6) Schedule (b) results in the end of grading periods naturally aligning with the start of winter and spring breaks, so that kids are not studying during those breaks

I love the idea of teaching tracks. I would have loved to have been a teacher but the thought of being told I could only take my vacation in summer when its hot, crowded , and expensive never sat well with me. Summer is my least favorite season. If I had known years ago that school districts around the country have year-round school and there are various teaching tracks I would have jumped on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in NC. Year round middle school started last week. Off for three weeks in October, three in January, three in April and then most of June and part of July.

I’m envious (except for the 3 weeks in January, I don’t want that)

It’s different depending what “track” you are on. Ours happens to have the three week Jan break. Others have it in Feb or March. It’s a good system but a little confusing. Ha

I'm the poster with sister in Reno who loves her "Blue" teaching track. 3weeks off in February means mid-week (Mon-Thurs) skiing at Tahoe for a fairly cheap ticket. 3 weeks off in October means mountain biking and hiking. 3 weeks in June means visiting family back East. It's the best of all possible worlds, as Candide would say.

All they need to do is effectively air condition schools in this area and this could be a possibility. I’m in Baltimore City and not all schools have a/c and the ones that do, it doesn’t always work. I’d love a schedule similar to the UK with 2-3 weeks breaks throughout the year. I can’t go on vacation in the summer due to the high cost. Ditto for winter and spring breaks.

Texas. School finishes the Friday before Memorial Day. Start 8/14 this year year.