Late School Start May Be By Days
By Brandee A. Thomas, The Brunswick News, Ga.
Jun. 24–Glynn County School Board member Ruby Robinson thinks a state proposal to start school later in August is a good idea but says it could be better.
Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox told educators during an annual conference in Savannah over the weekend that she would like to start the school year just several days later than it starts now.
Robinson would like for the date to be even later, like early September.
“I’ve always supported the idea of school starting after Labor Day to help boost the local economy and because a lot of parents take the last of their vacation time at Labor Day,” Robinson said.
Labor Day is the first Monday in September.
For the 2007 school year, classes in Glynn County public schools began Aug. 15. This upcoming school year, they will begin slightly earlier, on Aug. 13.
“It wasn’t what I anticipated,” Robinson said of the proposal outlined by Cox.
Dana Tofig, state board of education director of communication, said Cox is not really proposing a specific start date. She is instead recommending a potential course of action.
A later starting date is necessary if the scores from the Criterion Referenced Competency Test retests at the end of a school year are to be used in determining school’s initial Adequate Yearly Progress calculations.
The CRCT is a state-mandated exam used to test elementary and middle school students’ knowledge in various subjects, including reading, math and science.
The initial exam is administered to students in April and the retest of students who failed parts of it is available during summer school.
Student scores are used to determine if a school has made Adequate Yearly Progress — a mandate of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
Although Cox has proposed a later school start date, Tofig said it is up to individual school districts to decide if school should actually begin later than usual.
“Superintendent Cox has not advocated one way or the other,” Tofig says. “She simply is seeking to jump start a conversation, which she has done.
“She will now wait to hear from the local districts.”
—–
To see more of The Brunswick News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Brunswick News, Ga.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.