When should schools start?

[craedaisy12]

I live in Maryland, and this past Labor Day our Governor, Larry Hogan, signed an executive order to start school after Labor Day.

I support this decision because I am a part of The Maryland State Fair which is "The 11 Best Days of Summer" which always ends on Labor Day. I've been working there for 9 fairs now and it effects us during the week. We have noticed a difference over the years when the beginning of school kept getting earlier. We are thrilled to see the difference next year!

I want to know when schools start where you live and your thoughts on this!

 

[ronandannette]

Schools here always start after Labour Day and go until the last week of June. That schedule works really well with the length of our summer season.

 

[Disney_traveler]

In Texas law mandates: No earlier than the 4th Monday in August unless it is a year round schedule or they get a special waiver.

 

[MataHari22]

I'm originally from NYC and we always went back after Labor Day. Here in PA, they start in August. I would rather go back after LD.

 

[Kitty 34]

Michigan put into law a few years ago that no school would start until after Labor Day but a lot of schools got special waivers just this year to start the week before like it used to be.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our schools start by August 5th. A law was pushed through a few years ago by lobbyists that school couldn't start until the 3rd Monday for tourism reasons. But a change in lawmakers overruled the law before it could be implemented.

So nothing changed. School let's out 3rd week in May.

Summers seem too short to me, but they have to have 180 days. So I don't know how they could get them in otherwise.

It seems also that 2 months is too little time for maintenance projects at schools and other summer prep by administration.

 

[kimblebee]

Definitely like that we start back after Labour Day and go til the end of June.

 

[Jennasis]

On Long Island, as a kid, school started after Labor Day. Here in NC the kids went back in August.

 

[hereyago]

I live in Va and our schools (public) don't start until after Labor day. Our state, well the amusement park lobbyists need to get the last bit of summer tourism dollars, lol

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We start first week of August and go through until mid May. We do that to maximize the number of class days before AP tests.

 

[tvguy]

It has been years since they moved the start of school to mid-August here, so that the semester ends and finals are before Christmas break. Starting after Labor Day meant the kids were out of school for 2 weeks, then back for 2 weeks when the semester ended and finals were taken. Makes more sense to me from an education standpoint.
It did have a HUGE impact on attendance on the State Fair, so in 2010 they moved the State Fair from the 17 days before Labor day, to July.
That really never impacted our lives when our kids were in school, but when the oldest hit high school, and later college, the fact that what had been Easter Break the week before Easter was no longer that week, and was now Spring Break and could hit anytime in March and April did mess with a lot of family vacation planning.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I live in Maryland, and this past Labor Day our Governor, Larry Hogan, signed an executive order to start school after Labor Day.

I support this decision because I am a part of The Maryland State Fair which is "The 11 Best Days of Summer" which always ends on Labor Day. I've been working there for 9 fairs now and it effects us during the week. We have noticed a difference over the years when the beginning of school kept getting earlier. We are thrilled to see the difference next year!

I want to know when schools start where you live and your thoughts on this!

Well here they start the week before Labor day (sometimes even the Wednesday before that). Their theory was
"the first week of school is a lot of wasted time, anyway, so let's get it over with before real teaching starts (after Labor day)". That was their reasoning about 10 years ago when they switched from after Labor day.

When I was in school, and I went to school in a lot of places, we started the day after Labor day (yes, on Tuesday) and went to the 3rd week of June. We didn't have all those "teacher training" days and way fewer minimum days.

 

[bethbuchall]

Our schools start the Wednesday after Labor Day for students (teachers return on Tuesday), and school ends near the end of June. This year graduation is June 24th, but it has been closer to the end of the month depending on how the month falls. Also, high school has regents exams and local finals for the last week and a half of school. High school students go in only on days that they have exams. I like starting after Labor Day, but I'm usually ready for school to be finished earlier in June. Fall sports start practicing mid-August, though, cutting our summers shorter.

 

[tvguy]

When I was in school, and I went to school in a lot of places, we started the day after Labor day (yes, on Tuesday) and went to the 3rd week of June. We didn't have all those "teacher training" days and way fewer minimum days.

That is how it was for me. Yeah, the school district I live in, which is also the one I attended, EVERY Thursday is now a minimum day, not just the last day of the quarter. They take Thanksgiving week off instead of just Thursday and Friday. And they take President's Day WEEK off, not just Monday.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

We are out you Memorial Day and back in the second week of August. I hate going back early, but I love being out by the end of May.

 

[LilyWDW]

By the time they head back to school I am always thinking "Not soon enough".

 

[disny_luvr]

We always go back the Monday before Labor Day and get out around the first week in June. This year we get out on June 7th. I wish we'd start after Labor Day though.

 

[Poohlove]

Our schools used to start the Wednesday after labor day, now it's back to Tuesday.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Standard has always been the Wednesday or Thursday after Labor Day until about June 21.

My thoughts: Schools should go year round, about 190 to 200 days, with a week's break thrown in at various times.

If seasonal, start late September until mid July.

 

[ICF]

Here in central Indiana, most schools are done the week before Memorial day and go back during the first week or so of August.

The amount of time off is the same as other districts -- IMO, there are pros and cons to starting later or earlier.....but you just learn to adapt to whatever the local districts do.

It seems nuts to me that some schools in other states go until late June....and they think it's just as nuts that we start in early Aug.