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Returning
to a Traditional School Start Date
A Parents Guide
Are you unhappy with your school district’s
current school calendar? Would you like to help influence change?
The process is normally painless and consumes a minimal amount of time.
The following tips have been compiled from parents across the nation who
have fought the school calendar battle and won. If you need help or
have questions, don’t hesitate to give Texans for a Traditional School
Year a call. We are here to help you.
Step One – Gather the Facts
Call the superintendent’s office and ask how and when the calendar is
decided. Is there a committee and if so, who comprises it, or is the
calendar drafted by the administration?
Call your school board representative and ask for his or her stance on the
current calendar.
Step Two – Vocalizing Your Views
Send a certified letter to the superintendent and your school board
representative outlining your dislike of the current calendar and offer a
suggestion for a different calendar.
In the same letter, volunteer to serve on the calendar committee and
consider including a sample calendar (TTSY will be happy to draft one for
you.)
Share research with school board members who support your beliefs.
(Log on to the TTSY web site for downloads.)
Speak at a school board
meeting, letting all school board members and anyone
in the audience know you are not happy with the current school calendar and
why.
Reasons might
include:
- Shorter summers mean less time for the family to be together, for children
to be with grandparents, aunts/uncles, or non-custodial parents.
- Shorter summers mean less time for high school students to maximize summer
work experiences and save money for advanced studies. {A study by the
Employment Policies Institute found high school students who work during the
summer months get higher paying jobs after college than those without high
school summer work experience.}
- Attendance is normally low when school starts in early-August, as compared
to September 1st. This hurts the school district’s average daily
attendance, which reduces state funding.
- The electric charge per kilowatt-hour is normally much higher during the
month of August, sometimes as much as double the average. By starting
school later, we could stave off keeping the air conditioning at student
temperatures during the hottest and most expensive time of the year and
instead use that money to provide more services to our teachers or give them
extra classroom money.
- Numerous one-day holidays and short breaks during the school year make
finding child care difficult and costly for parents.
- These short breaks also disrupt instruction flow, reducing time on task and
minimizing instruction the day before each break.
- The first semester can be completed before the winter break by starting the
week of August 21; many other school districts are currently doing it.
Step Three – Empower Others
Consider coordinating an information
campaign. Distribute fliers with
sample calendars and information regarding the negative impact of the
early-August school start date. {TTSY will be happy to help you or log onto
our web site at www.traditionalschoolyear.org
to download sample fliers.}
Coordinate a petition drive or postcard drive to help inform the school
board of the parental desire for a later school start date. {Postcards also
can be downloaded from our web site.}
Write a letter to the editor encouraging parents to get involved.
Call the local education reporter at your newspaper and TV stations.
Explain to them the efforts of the parents to return to a traditional school
year. Share research and the activities of the group. (For more
information, see our “Working with the Media” section on the TTSY web
site.)
Step Four – Share Your Results
Via a public information request, ask for any correspondence received
regarding the school calendar. This will enable you to get copies of
postcards or letters sent to the district of which you were unaware.
Share the results of your petition drive with the superintendent and school
board members. Make copies of all postcards and petitions and send to
each member of the school board. Also, share your results at the
school board meeting before the calendar is set for vote.
Send a summary of your results to the local
media. Let them know the
community supports a later start date.
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