Answers: School Calendar

What is your reaction to the Iowa Department of Education saying Iowa public school classes must begin the week of Sep. 1?

FROM OUR INBOX

Gov. Branstad or the tourism bureau need to explain to me how starting school later and getting out later makes any difference. As school districts we have to educate our students 180 days (or 1080 hours) so when we start later in the year we need to go later into the summer. This start date should be a local decision as local school boards know more about their districts then someone in Des Moines. Aligning with local community colleges for classes, snow days, professional development within the district, and ending the semester before Christmas break all go into the planning of a school calendar. All parents in the state of Iowa should be upset that local control of their children's education is being taken away from their locally elected school boards.

Randy Mescher

Edgewood-Colesburg School Board Member

Edgewood

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Somehow, somewhere along the line, some 'experts” have managed to sell the misconception that the amount of student learning is determined by the amount of time spent in school.

Students are going to take away from school exactly the amount of learning that they choose to take away. The motivated will even look beyond the school day to learn more through their own efforts.

A system where all schools began the day after Labor Day, ran as many days as weather and other factors would allow (with traditional breaks at Thanksgiving and Christmas), and ended the Friday before Memorial Day would be entirely adequate to provide students with a quality education.

John R.

Belle Plaine

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I think schools should start on Sept. 1.

Richard S.

Maquoketa

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I believe that the school starting date should never have been before Labor Day weekend. Summer weather doesn't really begin until later in June. It makes fiscal sense for the schools to not open in the heat of the summer and to stay in school the cooler first weeks of June.

Molly D.

Cedar Rapids

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I think it's wonderful. Things need to go back to how school was when my parents where in school.

Naomi C.

Kalona

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When classes should start depends on individual communities' needs and should ideally be tailored to those needs. This is not really a matter of one size fitting all.

Lan N.

Cedar Rapids

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Great start. School should be from Labor Day to Memorial Day, and snow days should be the only reason to go past Memorial Day.

Lance Evans

Marion

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FROM FACEBOOK

' Kevin K.: Starting in September may or may not be a good idea. However, the motivation for this is pure and simple - more money for Des Moines area. It has nothing to do with family time or education.

' Billie M.: After spending three years in Virginia, where they do not start until after Labor Day, I see zero reason why a start date after Labor Day isn't a good idea. This last year saw schools in this state starting as early as, Aug. 7 or 8. In my opinion that's too early.

' Michele M.: The history of education in the US has been local control and decision making (through local school boards) with state funding. If Iowa governor wants to think outside of the box he should think about year-round school with about two weeks' vacation between each quarter.

' Deb V.: Nothing prevents a student from attending community college courses even if his high school has not yet started. Schedules are set at the end of the previous school year, not during the first weeks of a new year, so there is no logical reason why a schedule would not 'coincide”.

' Rick W.: I think it would make sense. It would create a more uniform starting date across Iowa instead of many different start dates now. Christmas break does not need to be two weeks long and spring break never used to be a week long. You can shorten those and still get out at end of May.

' Rachel M.: Well, the kids spend the first two weeks of school reviewing behavioral expectations, and the last two weeks watching movies.

' Angie H.: How about the department of education worry about the actual education. Leave this to individual communities and their needs. My kids have always started mid August with mid end date in May. In a rural community if it's a rough winter our kids could be going until mid June to make up hours because of snow days. We don't take week long breaks at Thanksgiving or a week long spring break and have very little in-service or early out. So for some communities like ours it's not a good deal.

' Sue K.: School should start the Tuesday after Labor Day, and end the Friday before Memorial Day.

' Amy J.: Local control should occur (which is why they let districts apply for the waiver in first place). Governor would not like it if school districts made his schedule.

' Angi D.: My children are in favor of it. Get rid of spring break. Not needed.

' Thomas L. A High School Perspective: You can't have it all. If you want teachers to complete their required recertification according to the college schedules, and not miss school time to do it, and if you want concurrent credit with community colleges, you start earlier. Having tried to teach children in June ... it doesn't happen. Absenteeism increases each day into June. They are much more open to instruction in August. If you want us to wait until Sept. 1, don't complain if you are finishing a semester after Christmas break and the majority of students fail their finals. So many families think it is fine now to take off two weeks of school in the middle or at the end of a semester, for vacations. Let the community decide. T. Langr Instructor, Washington.

' Jason P.: While it may seem a minor concern, the longer the gap between the start of fall sports/activities in August and the start of school, the lesser participation their may be over time. Also, at the end of the school year the later end to the school year will have a noted impact on summer baseball and softball.

' Anna A.: About Time! Let the kids enjoy summer. They won't be kids forever.

' Michael C.: I grew up starting the week of Labor Day. We got out in May. What has gotten so messed up that we can't still do this?

' Jarod B.: Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this subject, but look at research. The longer the summer, the less retention students have with content they learned the previous year, the more time teachers spend reactivating that prior knowledge.

' Nick C.: If we are ever going to catch up to China we will need to implement year-round schooling.

' James A.: The law has been on the books for years. It's about time they start abiding by it or change it.

' Stacie H.: Someone isn't going to happy no matter when school starts. There is always going to be someone complaining. It's a date that's all ... we will deal with it just like we always have.