Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS A TRADITIONAL SCHOOL CALENDAR?

In our opinion, a traditional school calendar is a calendar in which academic instruction begins in late-August or early-September and ends in late-May or the beginning of June.

 

WHY DOES SAVE COLORADO SUMMERS CARE ABOUT SAVING THE SUMMER?

Research in other states has shown us that the calendar configuration does not impact academic success, but can increase non-instructional costs. This means less of our taxpayer dollars goes into classroom instruction and teacher salaries. We care about keeping our kids out of school in the summer because summer not only is the hottest time to cool or schools, but we understand it is much easier for families to find quality child care during summer months.

August is also a popular month for family vacations but since many of our schools go back so early, some families are not able to schedule a summer vacation --- they may vacation earlier in the summer but many simply do not vacation at all or, in some cases, they stay for a shorter amount of time. Some children work during the summer and starting school in early August limits their earnings, money that is often used to pay for college.

It is also beneficial for teachers to have a full summer vacation. Allowing them to pursue advanced degrees (without taking time away from their classrooms and shorting their family time), take advantage of the Colorado grant program to achieve national teaching certification, work a summer job to supplement their income (often allowing teachers to remain in the field), or simply enjoy some much needed time off.

 

DOESN’T THE EARLIER SCHOOL START DATE MEAN OUR CHILDREN ARE RECEIVING MORE DAYS OF INSTRUCTION?

Regardless of the school calendar, our children receive the same number of instructional days – as mandated by our legislature. The only difference is many parishes schools have created a bloated school calendar by adding many one and two day holidays into the school year. This adds more days from the first day of school to the last, but doesn’t add one moment of instructional time to the mix.

 

IF WE BEGAN THE SCHOOL YEAR LATER, WOULDN’T WE SIMPLY BE SHIFTING THE AUGUST SCHOOL DAYS FOR SCHOOL DAYS IN JUNE?

If the days were simply swapped, yes. But….if we reduced the number of one and two-day holidays and vacation days and compacted the school year we could start later and end earlier.

 

WOULDN’T A LATER SCHOOL START DATE REQUIRE ADMINISTERING END-OF-SEMESTER EXAMS AFTER THE WINTER BREAK?

Yes. Late-August school start dates often necessitate ending the first semester after the winter break. There is no academic detriment that has been shown for schools ending the first semester after the winter break. Actually, the majority of the top 10 academic states in the nation, according to four different ranking systems, began the school year in late-August or early-September and administered end-of-semester exams after the winter break.

The "Spacing Effect," which is referred to in several studies in psychology literature and journals supports the idea that exams after the winter break could be more beneficial to our students long-term retention of the material presented. The Spacing Effect holds that "Review of material increases long-term memory best when there is more time between introduction and review of material." In other words, if students learn something, and then review what they have learned again at a later date, they are more likely to remember the lesson. So if exams are administered after a break rather than before, students should benefit academically given that there was a review before the exams.

 

WOULD A MORE COMPACT SCHOOL YEAR DECREASE TEACHER PAY?

No. Teachers would still be teaching the same number of days. The only difference would be how the holidays and vacations are scheduled into the calendar year.

 

HOW WOULD IT BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO OPERATE UNDER A TRADITIONAL SCHOOL CALENDAR?

August is typically one of the two hottest months of the year. If we removed the need to cool the schools, with students in the classrooms, during this time our non-instructional costs would be reduced. It is not as expensive to cool schools in May and June – due to demand and usage charges.

For example, Tulsa Public Schools (Oklahoma) pushed back its school start date from August 19 to post-Labor Day and experienced a savings of approximately $500,000 – as reported in the November 17, 2002 Tulsa World article, "Late opening of schools saved money". A recent report by the Texas Comptroller says, "As I stated in my original report, Saving Summer: Lessons Learned, the academic benefits of stretching the school year have not been proved; what we do know – it’s costing Texans $790 million annually,". With limited dollars to spend on academic programming and teacher salaries, we feel it is important to save money where we can without compromising the quality of our education system.

 

WHEN YOU WERE IN SCHOOL YOU PROBABLY STARTED AFTER LABOR DAY. WHAT CHANGED?

Many of us feel the same way. We started school after Labor Day and ended the school year before or right after Memorial Day. This schedule worked well for us and could work just as well for our children. It is the quality of time spent in the classroom, not the quantity. By law, all students would still attend 175 days of school.

 

WHO OPPOSES THE LATER SCHOOL START DATE?

Most parents and teachers we speak with prefer a later school start. However, some school administrators prefer the earlier school start date. They prefer to start school earlier and earlier each year, in the unproven hope that it will increase CSAP scores since that is how their job performance is judged. None of us send our children to school to study the CSAP Test. We send them to learn reading, writing, language arts, math, history, and geography.

 

I’M JUST ONE PARENT, WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE A CHANGE TO MY SCHOOLS’ CALENDAR?

The first thing to do is to educate yourself about the calendar setting process. Then volunteer to be part of the committee or the group planning the calendar. Take time to talk with the administration about their reason for setting an early-August school start date. Ask them to provide research and documentation to support their claims. Then do your own research. Talk to teachers and other parents. We also suggest asking the parish for the school utility bills for August, May and June. See if the early-August date is costing your school district extra money. Once you have researched the issue, and feel the traditional calendar is best for your student, present your findings to your school board and ask them to consider a calendar change. Enlist the help of other parents by starting a petition drive or simply talking to your neighbors and friends.

Don’t sit back and expect someone else to fight for what is right for your child. Most importantly, become involved. Volunteering at your child’s school not only emphasizes the importance of education, but allows you to better understand the needs of the school. Remember, everyone has the best interest of the child at heart…we just sometimes disagree about the best calendar approach.