Why More California Schools Start in Early August

NBC Bay Area ^

[nickcarraway]

In Los Angeles County, 22 school districts started school this week, and only four of the county’s 80 districts do not have an August start date, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

For some children in Los Angeles County, the first day of school has seemed to move earlier and earlier into August. That change has left some parents wondering what happened to school typically starting after Labor Day?

In Los Angeles County, 22 school districts started school this week, and only four of the county’s 80 districts do not have an August start date, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

By starting school in August, teachers and students are able to complete the first semester before leaving for winter break. Earlier start dates also give students more time to study before they take state standardized tests and Advanced Placement exams, and has given some schools the opportunity to extend their winter breaks so they can schedule catch-up classes to take place during the break.

Yet, the change in schedule has raised some districts’ electricity bills because of the August heat.

Palm Springs Unified School District started school Wednesday, and school district spokeswoman Joan Boiko said that their start date adds about $6,500 more per day to their electricity bill, largely due to the cost of air conditioning.

Read more at KPPC.

[laweeks]

The sad thing is there are lots of schools that don’t have air conditioning. I would hate to be a teacher or student in those schools.

Oh, poor babies. No A/C. I went thru 12 years of school here in Euclid, Ohio, and some college too WITHOUT A/C. Shouldn't even be an issue.

[Sivad]

Teachers prepared in libtard colleges, more assholes type
kids and parents. We are in a terrible fix.

[Paulie]

Yep, that’s the long and short of it.

But you have to admit they do a remarkable job of fooling the community.

[netguide]

Doesn’t mean they get extra pay it just means their pay is divided by 12.

[Rural_Michigan]

The article noted that the school concerned about the AC bill was in Palm Springs. Have you ever been to Palm Springs? Not having AC would be very duly considered child abuse. It’s desert and current temp right now is 84* at 0500 with a forecast high of 109*. That and electricity is very expensive in that part of the world. It’s the Mojave Desert.

[hattend]

More school days = more federal funding.

Doesn’t help kids but keeps the unions happy.

[rey]

Nonsense. A longer winter break for the sake of a shorter summer break. Most would rather have the longer stretch off. The administrator I know in the wine country region of CA says it was for the reason I stated. Migrant labor is a large part of the work force here. They care little if anything for education but they do seem overly obligated to their dysfunctional families. It isn’t worthwhile to travel to Mexico with the entire family for a week or two and farm labor needs are low during that period, so they disappear for a month or two and school be damned. As always, the white liberals that comprise the public school system cannot cow tow enough to these people, and despite their anti-capitalist claims desire money, so the extend the break.

Teachers find breaks problematic as it requires reteaching material from the previous semester rather than progressing forward. On average, the summer break requires a month of review to bring pupils back up to speed. Christmas break used to require a week or two but now it requires more time, closer to a month. It is a waste.

Another interesting note is that schools and libraries here will not close for the allegedly racist Columbus holiday. They will hold school on this day and take off another day, because sacrificing any union required paid holiday off would be too much sacrifice for these educators supposedly dedicated to education. The other day is usually the following Friday and is called an administrative day but is very inconvenient as parents had Columbus Day off and must scramble for someone to watch the inmates on Friday.

Nothing public school teachers do is about education. It is about union, “socialization” or liberal agenda issues, and education is a very distant third.

[Godzilla]

This would force a readjustment on the various sectors of the economy built around the presence of tens of millions of idle students in the summer months. The summer camp industry would be hard hit. But I think we'd see better educational results, and working parents would find the change welcome once they got used to it.

Advocating gov't babysitting service I see. better 'results'? BS

[sphinx]

The issue long raised by teachers is the loss of skills due to a long summer break, with the result that the first several weeks of each school year are devoted to review and catching up. The issue for working parents is the constant grind of working out a schedule of camps and vacations to fill a three month gap. For older kids, the reality is that there aren't enough summer jobs to go around, so a lot of teens are hanging around looking for trouble. And then there is the reality of an enormous and expensive physical plant sitting idle for a quarter of the year.

A quarterly system with two week breaks between quarters would help solve these problems. There would be a downside for the substantial summer camp industry, and for teachers who have found lucrative and stable summer jobs for a second income. But given a choice, I think a lot of parents would be eager to go to year round schooling. The laggards would come around soon enough if the new system indeed paid off with improved academic performances.

[Yaelle]

It is insane to start now. I hate it. By some luck we still have one week before my kids go back but most schools are already in session. Bleah.

[Yaelle]

PSA the other day with Michelle Obama essentially making the case for that, spouting some nonsense about how with a long break kids forget what they learned.

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I heard that Mooch PSA. It’s hypocritical. She says summer is important because kids get new fun experienced etc. Then she says they lose 2 months of bullpoop school factoids. Sheesh. There is the Internet now. We don’t need to stuff kids full of facts. Kids learning how to travel and meet people and adapt to new things, learn new activities, will get them better jobs than knowing all the state capitals etc.

[Yaelle]

I remember how hellish it was with no a/c in the schools in SoCal. The teacher would close the blinds and turn off the lights. I remember counting the rivulets of sweat running down my (child’s) chest under my dress. It was very unpleasant.

[Yaelle]

Teachers find breaks problematic as it requires reteaching material from the previous semester rather than progressing forward. On average, the summer break requires a month of review to bring pupils back up to speed. Christmas break used to require a week or two but now it requires more time, closer to a month. It is a waste.

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Ridiculous. We teach wrong then. We should be lighting fires in kids, not stuffing them with forgettable facts that they now have in the phones in their hands.

[AZLiberty]

It’s all about test scores. If you start your school a month earlier, then your kids have a month’s more learning under their belts before the state-mandated tests, which happen on the same day for everyone.

The kids aren’t learning any more throughout the whole year, but the smoke and mirrors makes it look like they’re learning more.

[Godzilla]

The issue long raised by teachers is the loss of skills due to a long summer break, with the result that the first several weeks of each school year are devoted to review and catching up.

an excuse

The issue for working parents is the constant grind of working out a schedule of camps and vacations to fill a three month gap.

they seem to manage soccer and sports scheduling ok

For older kids, the reality is that there aren't enough summer jobs to go around, so a lot of teens are hanging around looking for trouble

So kids are too lazy to be motivated to find or make work now so we have to baby sit - is that your point?

And then there is the reality of an enormous and expensive physical plant sitting idle for a quarter of the year.

Again, hogwash. If you aren't heating/cooling you aren't spending money. In the day the above weren't issues at all and our education system was the best ever. Now the kids are indoctrinated with PC crap, common core, submission to islam and LGBT doctrine, etc. As I said - gov't babysitting.

[darkangel82]

I’d have to agree with you on that, Yaelle. We never started this early.

[luckystarmom]

You also started school after Labor day and it wasn’t over 100 degrees.

[rey]

We do not teach them wrong. What we do wrong is give our children to the government. As I said, government school teachers are not interested in teaching, they are interested in inculcating and socializing.

Think about it, from K-12 they have the pupils for more than 14,000 hours (180 day school year times 6 hr days times 13 years). The result is pitiful. According to Malcom Gladwell, it takes about 10,000 hours to become a rather competent professional in any subject. If you dedicated yourself to truly studying any subject 2 hours a day 275 days a year for 13 years you would be very fluent in that subject. I have tried it and I have done it with my home schooler. Her proficiency is very high. This tells me that the majority of what they do in government run schools is nonsense. They do not know how to educate, they do not care to educate. They lack any true pedagogical sense at all. They would rather discuss Johnny’s new identity and which bathroom he should use and which sports team he should ruin. Taking a two month break in the middle of that silliness doesn’t matter. But, if you mean the idea that you can touch on a subject and never use it again and retain it is false, I would agree. Two years of algebra does not prepare you for anything. The pupil has some exposure to it, sets it aside for breaks, forgets about it until college, and then struggles. You need to do it everyday. Anything you seek to become proficient in you must do repeatedly for very long periods.

We are allowed to attend a local college’s jazz class. The over riding theme is it takes a lot of practice. Most of these musicians are playing 8-14 hours a day (playing, transcribing, practicing, studying music). Ramsey Lewis said he still dies for practice time to improve and he is 81 and has been doing this since he was a child. School does not stress the extreme dedication it takes to be very good at something.

[oincobx]

The national assessment tests by which schools are compared take place at roughly the same time each year. If you move your start date back, you can have more school days in before the tests. This allows you to show improving test score without have to make any real changes.

[Vermont Lt]

Yes. Exactly.