All I Want for Christmas Is a Better School Calendar (but it's not Baltimore City's fault) - Entrepreneur Generations

Baltimore City Public Schools are in session through Wednesday, December 23rd.

When I've told people not from Baltimore this, they've always been surprised. "You go that late? Why?". And, me, not being a native Baltimorean, I had always thought for years that Baltimore City was an outlier in getting out this late before the Christmas holiday. Some of my thoughts were even more conspiratorial: I thought that the parents of Baltimore City students did not have the clout to have a more forgiving schedule for travel or family, that the "powers that be" would rather all these kids be in school than raising a ruckus on the streets.

This is wrong. It has nothing to do with political clout or managing youth. Even privileged Montgomery County Public Schools goes all the way through December 23rd. In fact, it looks like every public school district in Maryland gets out on Dec. 23rd this year.

And, as it turns out, this is regional,

All other regions in the country attend school until the week before the holiday, and receive a full two weeks of break from school. It appears it's only the states of Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island that require students to attend school all the way up through December 23rd rather than the week before.

Starting with DC and heading south and all the west, it all other states got out on Dec. 18th. (I didn't check all 50 states, but you see the list below.)

Last Day of School Before Break is Friday, Dec. 18th
Washington DC
San Francisco
Detroit
Atlanta
Cleveland
Miami/Dade
Richmond
Oakland
Birmingham
Denver
Minneapolis
Seattle
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Milwaukee

Last Day of School Before Break is Wednesday, Dec. 23rd
Baltimore City (and all other public schools in Maryland)
Rhode Island
Hartford
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
New York City
Boston
Buffalo

I do think the rest of the country gets it right, not us.

The main issue is that I think our kids and families (and taxpayers) deserve a better calendar in general, and this issue of working up until the holiday is just a symptom of the issue. All efforts should be made in this state to extend the school year so there is not as long of a layoff in the summer, so the summer slide (which disproportionately affects poor kids) doesn't impact instruction so much. (Of course, this is not what Peter Franchot and his ridiculous proposal to force schools to open after Labor Day would want.) Having a school year with more breaks throughout the year would help a lot of kids, from curbing truancy to diminishing the skills decline after the summer.

Another issue probably hasn't gotten as much study, unlike the hundred years of study about the summer skills slide, but this is important: kids, families, and taxpayers only get 180 days of school a school year. The days before Christmas are filled with rambunctiousness, which gets more pronounced the closer we get to Christmas. Cutting that off on the Friday before, rather than dragging everyone in for three more days this week (this week; it's been two days other years), would make those two or three days on the calendar much more productive.

I think our school handles this issue pretty awesomely; on one day this week, we invite recent graduates in to talk to our current students about college, and we have some really cool holiday concerts. Myself, I'm planning a field trip tomorrow to see Macbeth, and I intentionally chose this week because I knew it was a tough week to be as productive as I would want to be otherwise.

However, do I think those days would be better and more productive elsewhere in the school year? Absolutely. Do I think we could still have an awesome holiday concert if we got out on Dec. 18th? We sure could.

Families deserve this change, too. Why should private school kids in schools like Friends, Boys Latin, or Calvert Hall -- all of which dismissed for winter break on Dec. 18th -- be able to engage in travel and mental rest earlier than our public school kids?

Part of this is admittedly personal, as well, but I do think it's real: for districts like Baltimore to seek to hire teachers from all over the country, it would be nice not to have to drive through the night to make it home on Christmas Eve.

When I posted a message similar to this on Facebook, several of my thoughtful friends wondered about services provided to kids in Baltimore City by schools, such as free breakfast and lunch, if school was out. I did note that Indianapolis Public Schools will be open their entire two weeks to provide meals for kids who need it. This certainly seems like Baltimore City could be committed to do.

It's hard to write an entry like this without sounding petty, I admit. But I'm passionate about this issue of how to best spend 180 days of instruction. This issue of the holiday break is one with deep regional cultural roots, it appears.

I think it would be awesome if the calendar makers for Baltimore City Public Schools led efforts to provide a bit more balance to our calendar, in terms of maximizing our days as much as possible. More breaks, and longer into the summer. It's what's best for the students.

from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/1OhMWSp All I Want for Christmas Is a Better School Calendar (but it's not Baltimore City's fault) - Entrepreneur Generations

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