Publication Date: Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Summer interrupted
Summer interrupted
(August 24, 2005) Parents upset over earlier start to school year
by Alexandria Rocha
Where has the summer gone?
It is an infuriating question to some Palo Alto parents, who canceled vacation plans this month to prepare for the earliest school start day ever employed by the district.
"We would be in Tahoe right now for sure," said Carrie Maser, a parent of elementary and middle school students, last week. "We were not happy with the whole thing."
Maser is referring to the controversial calendar adopted by the district's Board of Education in June. Besides the early start day, the calendar includes a four-day Labor Day break in less than two weeks. (In the past, the holiday has only garnered a three-day weekend.) But the most controversial aspect of the calendar is a break in February dubbed "ski week," which parents blame for the shorter summer.
"I certainly feel a lot of discomfort. The whole family feels a lot of discomfort," said Camilla Olson, a parent of an eighth-grader and a freshman. "Is it worth having an extra week in February? Our family doesn't go to ski, but we do really enjoy the summer time. It just feels very early."
The calendar, a pilot for this year and 2006-2007, was approved 4-1 at a meeting June 22 with member Gail Price dissenting. The board rejected the same calendar two weeks prior and advised the staff committee to revise it. That didn't happen. The calendar came back unchanged, and the district either had to drag the issue into negotiations with its employee unions or adopt it as is.
"I voted against that calendar when it (first) came up. A longer summer has greater benefits for our community than several intermittent breaks," said board Vice President Mandy Lowell. "I don't think there was sufficient input from students and parents. Our backs were against the wall."
The "ski week" calendar was drafted at the request of staff for a leave between spring break and summer vacation. Advocates said a strategically placed week off in February would help reduce student stress, a claim that has been challenged since day one.
Overall, district staff supported the current calendar, favoring it over three other versions. One of the other choices was a more compacted school year that ended the high schools' first semester before winter break.
"I hate starting school this early," said Isabelle Cole, whose children started second and fifth grades at district schools Monday. "When we grew up, we always started school after Labor Day. Most parents that I know would like their kids to have an old-fashioned summer."
By starting school early, Cole is frustrated that her kids' relaxation and free time is decreased. Although her children are at elementary campuses, and likely have less school-related stress than middle and high school students, she said, they are "still very busy and I think they work harder than we did in elementary school."
"Our family likes having down time to just do nothing. A week's vacation during the school year is not the same thing as down time during the summer. That's when you're really not in the everyday hectic schedule," Cole said.
If her children were not in school already, she added, they would be spending time "staying home and not stressing out about homework or friend problems on the playground."
Olson, an active member of the PTA, said the calendar has disrupted end-of-August plans for many families. And unlike Maser, who said her family does not pay for their annual Tahoe trip in advance, some parents are stuck with permanent vacation plans that are near impossible to cancel. Lowell, in fact, has heard that some families are skipping the first week of school for that reason.
"Normally, you've had enough summer time and it feels good to go back. Right now, we don't feel like we're there yet," Olson said.
Other parents are put off by the combination of an early start followed by the four-day weekend.
"I liked a little more time before Labor Day," said Nancy Kim, whose children attend Escondido Elementary School. "Because it seems like they start and then they have days off for Labor Day right away."
Palo Alto parents are not alone in their shrinking summers. School districts across the nation are getting mouthfuls from upset parents. Groups in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas have banded together to hold on to their summer vacations. Some are even going to their legislators.
Locally, it hasn't gotten to that point.
"The general feeling right now is, 'Is this going to get earlier and earlier? Is this a trend?'" said Melissa Caswell, president of the Palo Alto Council of PTAs.
It's hard to tell. For now, Lowell, and most parents, are willing to see how the year goes. Lowell is determined, however, to involve parents and students in the calendar discussion next time around.
And as Caswell puts it, when "February comes and we all have a week off, we'll be happy with it."
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