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The School Calendar and the Heat Index

Back in the day, school never started before Labor Day—that weekend marked the official end of summer fun. In more recent times of increased snow days, however, to keep school from ending later in June, the school year now begins sometime in late August. This year in Region 4, school started on Aug. 30 (a day later than many surrounding school systems) during a heat wave, prompting murmurs from many parents about the calendar change and questions about whether it’s better or worse for the students.

Temperatures were in the mid- to high-90s for much of last week and heat indexes in several towns topped out above 100. Many towns had to call for early dismissals during the first few days of school, due to heat issues.

“School has begun in our district since before I was here (13 years ago) prior to Labor Day, so this is nothing new, but thankfully all of the schools in Region 4 are air conditioned,” said Superintendent of Schools Ruth Levy, who said that aside from last week’s heat, it was a great start to the school year.

Although starting school before Labor Day is the new normal, some students’ parents aren’t sold on the move.

“When I was a kid, school always started after Labor Day. I wish it was still like that,” said Jane Lavizzoli, a Deep River mother of three school-aged children.

“I agree,” said Beth Knox. “We always went back after Labor Day. I think its hard having them start a few days before Labor Day and then have a long weekend.”

Essex mom of four Cassandra Sweet said that she, too, would like to see school start after Labor Day.

“When we only go back for two days, we have to cut summer short for two days and for families that travel it takes those extra days of summer away. I think if we are going to go back to school before Labor Day, we should go back for at least a Wednesday-Thursday-Friday week so it is worth it.”

However, some parents like Centerbrook mom Kiley Mcaloon like the current school schedule.

“I prefer that school starts before Labor Day,” said Mcaloon, who has middle school- and high school-aged daughters. “With the possibility of snow days bringing us into late June, I believe having an earlier start date is beneficial.”

She added, “Also, I like having them go into school a few days and then have a three day weekend. I believe it helps acclimate them to the new schedule.”

Jessica Spearrin, Deep River mom of two and a 5th grade teacher at Haddam Killingworth Middle School agreed.

“I know that many people have mixed feelings about going back to school before Labor Day, but I honestly think it eases the students back into a routine,” she said.

Levy explained that unlike some other districts, Region 4 has a fixed graduation date, which is why the calendar has built in “snowflake days” to help with scheduling, in the event there are snow days.

“We started putting the ‘snowflake days’ into our calendar several years ago so that families could plan on the graduation date not changing and they could plan better for friends and family members traveling for the event,” said Levy, who explained that each town has requirements from the state in regard to the number of days they have to be in school and the professional development days for teachers.

The Region 4 calendar is put together by a subgroup of the Boards of Education along with teacher representatives. The calendars are usually voted on, in advance, two years at a time, by the Supervision District.

Levy explained that residents and parents are free to get in touch with her if they have concerns or questions about the school year calendar, but calendars are set well in advance of each year.

“We can’t plan for all the weather we get, but we try our best,” said Levy.