PWCS Schools to Begin Before Labor Day Again Next Year

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Photo by Ashleigh Henegar Photo by Ashleigh Henegar

The Prince William County School Board voted 7-0 in favor of the 2017-18 Trenum Hybrid Calendar model, Wednesday evening, in which school would begin Aug. 28, and end June 8.

According to the Hybrid model, winter break will begin Friday Dec. 22 and school would resume after spring break the Monday after Easter, March 26.

Prince William County School received special permission from the Commonwealth to start early due to previous years of weather-related  cancellations that resulted in the need to add more time to the school year.

Previously, the calendar committee presented the board two options, one a pre-Labor Day model and one a post-Labor Day model. One had school ending June 13 and the other June 15. Some residents felt if their children had to start before Labor Day, they should at least get out earlier than June 13.

While Sixty-three percent of parents surveyed said they prefer that school begin after Labor Day, school board members also saw the advantage of an early start that allows more time before spring testing.

And, although parents had voted for a late start, in the comment section of the survey they overwhelmingly told PWCS they wanted both a longer summer vacation and to get out earlier in June.

Looking at the pre-Labor Day model, which eliminates some vacation days from holiday vacations to shorten the school year, Brentsville School Board member Gil Trenum had proposed combining the two models so students could begin early and get out early.

Trenum proposed this calendar to the community while he was out of the county, though still in Virginia, training and preparing to depart to Africa for active duty with the U.S. Navy according to his wife, Michelle.

Gainesville member Alyson Satterwhite said she was in favor of the model, because while she understands about people wanting their vacation time, she also believes that it is an imperative to provide more time at the beginning of the year before important tests such as SOLs and SATs. She also liked the Hybrid model because some parents were requesting that school gets out as early as Memorial Day.

The calendar must include at least 180 instructional days to allow school to be canceled 12 times due to inclement weather or other emergencies before any days would have to be added onto the calendar.

Occoquan's member Lillie Jessie said she did not want to hold teachers "against their will" for three days at the end of the year. She thought it would be unproductive .

However, Superintendent, Dr. Steven Walts explained that extra days tacked on for teachers at the end of the year are serve as insurance in case the school year has to be lengthened. He said that they sometimes announce teachers can leave a day earlier than the calendar prescribes and would likely do so in 2018.

Walts noted that one short-coming is that parents also asked for a two-week winter break; none of the three models offered that long of a holiday break, but forecasters are predicting a cold winter, so there may be some unexpected vacations.

Loree Williams, the Woodbridge member, was absent Oct. 5 and thus could not vote. Brentsville was represented by their new, temporary member, Shawn Brann.

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