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The
Effects of a Nontraditional Calendar
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Effects on
Families
Summers have been a time for families to take a break from the intensity
of the school year. With three months of time, children can pursue
interests leisurely, without the stress of running from one activity to
another, as they do during the school year.
The
increase in length of the school year creates numerous breaks forcing
working parents to find child-care at non-traditional times.
Summer
camps, family vacations and reunions, and summer jobs for high school
students do not occur till later in June. Because most of the country
runs on a traditional summer schedule, opportunities are lost for
Kentucky families to participate in these activities.
Summer
employment of students allows students the ability to afford college
without working as many hours during the school year.
When
the school year begins in early August, student activities such as band
and football have to start practicing weeks before the start of school.
This places children on football fields and tracks in blistering heat
with a threat to their physical health.
Many
summer jobs for students are seasonal. Starting school before these
jobs end makes securing these jobs for students impossible.
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Effects on
Teachers
In
order to remain competitive and increase their skills, teachers need to
attend professional development. Shortened summers mean shortened
summer sessions that they can attend. In fact, starting earlier in
August means that teachers will be taking their college final exams
after they start their working school year.
School districts offer pay increases for advanced degrees, shouldn’t we
insure that teachers have the time to achieve their degrees?
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Effects on
Education
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Testing
Because of the high stakes associated with test scores in the “No
Child Left Behind” law, and the Kentucky Education Reform Act
allocating less funding to districts not making the grade, the
frenzy of administrators to improve these scores at all costs is
apparent. This has created unhealthy academic pressures and
unnecessarily narrowing the definition of education to what can be
measured by the tests. The push to maximize the number of
instructional days prior to CATS testing has become a priority for
administrators. It is unfortunate that desperate attempts to show
improvement on the CATS Tests have meant that our children are
robbed of the summers of their youth.
Semester exams taken before or after the winter break have also been
debated. When semester exams are given, in no way impacts academic
performance. The week prior to this break is the most stressful time
because of family, church, school and social functions. Student
attention span is limited the week before a break. Many educators
believe that giving tests after a break is a better measure of true
learning than memorization. Many of the top school districts in the
nation give their semester tests after the winter break.
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Learning
Extending the school year into early August means more breaks
throughout the year. Valuable instruction time and learning is
lost in the days preceding and following each break in the school
calendar. Children need time to readjust their routines following a
disruption.
No academic benefits have ever been established by starting early.
Many of the top academic districts in the nation follow a
traditional calendar. The top 10 academic states, in four commonly
used state education ranking systems have two things in common, they
begin school in late August or early September and administer
semester finals after the winter break.
The Kentucky Governor’s scholarship program runs from June 18th
through July 29th for high school students. Students
attending this valuable program miss well needed down time in August
that would benefit their academic achievements for the following
school year.
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Economic
Effects
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School Districts
Delaying the start date in later August would save a considerable
amount of money due to minimizing air-conditioning costs of public
buildings. Tulsa, Oklahoma moved their start date from August 19th
to after Labor Day and saved $500,000 in utility costs. This is
money that can go back into instructional supplies, teacher salaries
and educational programming.
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Community
The tourist industry in Kentucky is adversely affected by the early
start dates. Kentucky tourism is the third largest industry in the
state.
When schools start early, businesses are forced to scale back
weekday operations due to the fact that most of their summer help
has to return to the classroom.
During the month of August, water temperatures are higher than in
June making August a more popular month for vacationers. Businesses
such as marinas, boating and other water recreational activities
have a huge decline in business when school starts early.
Out-of-State visitors from states such as Michigan, Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota contribute to our state
economy. Families from these states typically take their vacations
right before they start school, which is close to Labor Day. In the
last decade, along with the early start date, districts have added a
week long break in the fall. Some Kentucky families use this break
to travel to warmer climates. This diverts money to other states
that they would otherwise have spent in Kentucky over the summer.
Think of the millions of dollars in lost revenue from businesses and
sales taxes that could be put to use in our local schools, if we
would start our schools at a later date?
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What can
you do?
Join
Save Our Summers in Kentucky
Contact
Your Legislator
Tell a friend
Do you have a friend or associate who would like to help
Save Kentucky Summers?
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