Posted on 08/03/2025 4:23:55 PM PDT by chiller
I’ve never done a count but my guess is the number of 5 day school weeks is in the minority now. I believe the number of days the chilrens attend school now is the same or less than 40-50 years ago when the school year began the first week of September and ended the first week in June.
In my school district in southern Arizona, it starts in July. Unlike when I was a kid, they now have a few weeks vacation in the fall and again in the spring, in addition to all the vacations I had as a kid.
They also have a lot of days where the teachers work and the kids are off, unlike when I was a kid. So if you keep the same number of days of kids in class, and add a lot of vacations...
My ex-teacher sister figured they added 6 weeks worth of vacations and teacher-only days of class. So school starts 6 weeks earlier than before. Mid-July.
In Iowa we started the Thursday before Labor Day. Might even have been a 1/2 day on Thursday. So you eased into it. A half day, then a full day, then a 3 day weekend. Then a 4 day week. Then regular 5 day weeks.
We got 2 days for Thanksgiving.
Two weeks for Christmas.
Good Friday and possibly Monday after Easter.
That was it.
We were done around the 3rd of June, plus or minus.
I graduated in 1971. June 9, the day before my 18th birthday.
That was two weeks before the end of the regular school year that ended on June 23rd that year.
Oh yeah, that was in Massachusetts.
Grew up in Canada. Typical school year was 190 school days. Longest school break was Xmas/New Year & Easter. In the fall school started in early September ... typically immediately after Labor (Labour) Day and wrapped up the third week of June. A few days at Thanksgiving (early October) in Canada & a few days for a teacher’s convention and that was the extent of our school holidays.
In az they may as well be in school in the summer. It’s too hot
Up north I remember starting after Labor Day. For my kids down in the south they always started around August 1st. They have a week off near the end of September as well. The graduation day for seniors was the 25th of May..
Bellevue Nebraska public schools start this Thursday.
Baby sitting
Brainwashing
In my day, we started after Labor Day, and school was over by early June. Now, the school year starts in mid-August and ends in mid-June.
About 25 years ago, there was a big push to lengthen the school year, supposedly because other countries have a longer school year. Some people believed American children would learn more if they were in school longer. Those people ignored the very different structure of schools in those other countries.
Blatant bullshit.
Kids have not walked to school since 1965.
Sorry Mr. Blatant Bullshit but I’ll see it every afternoon next week ...and beyond.
110, 112, 116, 115, 112 M>F...but it’s a dry heat.
Schools should not be in session in early August in the south or Southwest
I walked to school in the 1970s and early 80s. :-)
It’s not about the kids and their health and safety anymore. It’s ALL about the teachers and their recesses. That’s all they really care about.
Sad but true.
Back in the 60’s, school started the first day after Labor Day.
Now with teachers’ unions, and parent’s wanting their “free” babysitters back, it starts the first week of August.
School used to start in Sep and ended the third week of May.
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