Well, Texas schools are struggling to deal with mandates about when the school year must begin -- starting next fall, school may start no sooner than the fourth week of August. That means changing traditional dates for breaks debating when to have final exams, and otherwise taking aim at some sacred cows.

Texas public school students better play hard during their upcoming winter breaks because next December some will have fewer days off and — bah, humbug! — others will be stuck studying for finals.

The new state law ordering school to start later in the summer has forced local educators to make tough decisions that will influence families' vacation plans and could affect students' performance on high-stakes tests and semester exams.

Many area districts recently adopted their calendars for 2007-08, and this much they have in common: Classes begin Aug. 27 (the law bars districts from starting before the fourth week in August) and end after Memorial Day.

But, by sprinkling teacher-training days in different places, districts have varied the length of popular vacation times.

Some, including the Houston Independent School District, have proposed a shorter, three-day Thanksgiving break. Others — Pearland is one — opted for a weeklong break, meaning students stay in school through early June.

One sticking point for many districts became when to end the first semester: before or after winter break. Ending before the break meant, in most cases, cutting short the Thanksgiving holiday. But dragging the semester beyond the break meant students would have to study for end-of-course exams over their vacation.

My district has not acted yet -- but I expect that no one is going to be completely happy with the outcome.

I talked about this issue back in January, and came up with my own proposed school calendar. I think you will see the problems this whole situation creates for district planners.

Posted by: Greg at 11:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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