The Prince William County School Board will consider a pre-Labor Day start date calendar option along with its standard calendar for the 2015-16 school year at its Dec. 17 meeting.
Staff presented a standard calendar option at the Board’s Dec. 3 meeting, which was similar to past calendars. However, belief that PWCS would qualify for a waiver allowing schools to begin school before Labor Day, prompted staff to put forth the alternate calendar as a possibility.
"Now, the School Board has a choice—to open before or after Labor Day in 2015," said Supervisor of Community Relations for Prince William County Schools, Irene Cromer.
School Board Chairman Milt Johns explained that due to missed days, the school division may qualify for that waiver from the Virginia Department of Education.
"My understanding is that school staff went back and recalculated the missed days, and that we believe now that we are in a position to request a waiver. VDOE would grant or deny that waiver," Johns said.
Cromer confirmed that PWCS will receive the waiver since they met the Virginia Department of Education's criteria to receive one. According to Cromer, the combined total of missed days due to weather conditions over the past decade placed PWCS the position to be granted the waiver.
"PWCS staff did further research into a pre-Labor Day opening. Virginia Department of Education staff confirmed that PWCS would qualify for a waiver based on a mathematical average of the five highest 'snow day' totals from the past 10 years. As a result, the calendar committee was reconvened and recommended the pre-Labor Day option for consideration by the Board," Cromer wrote in a press release.
If adopted by the School Board, Cromer said the pre-Labor Day option would start school Monday, Aug. 31, which is one week earlier than in the standard calendar. In addition, according to the pre-Labors Day calendar, schools would adjourn for summer vacation almost one week earlier on Friday, June 17. That option would also include a two-week winter break.
In comparison, the standard option would start school Tuesday, Sept. 8 and end school on Thursday, June 23. The winter break in that option would not be two full weeks, and would start on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
Full listings of both options, as well as a comparison of the key differences between the options, are posted on the PWCS website as well as in BoardDocs.
Teachers and parents have been pushing for a pre-Labor Day start date for some time as the earlier start date allows more time for instruction prior to standardized tests given in May.
"The pre-Labor Day calendar option would also provide more instructional time prior to SOL, AP, IB, and Cambridge tests," Cromer said.
A waiver to start school early is required as the Virginia General Assembly favors later start dates. Starting school after Labor Day encourages tourism and allows students to continue working summer jobs, which is why it has sometimes been called the "Kings Dominion Law."
One reason law-makers have given for wanted the early start times is the revenue the Labor Day holiday garners for the Commonwealth, which includes some money that filters back into education.
However, when schools lose so much time due to inclement weather, they are forced to add on days at the end of the year. Often these dates come too late to help students prepare for their standardized or achievement tests.
Last year, the school division not only added addition days, but shortened recess and added minutes onto the school day.
This article had been updated 6:40 p.m. Dec. 12th to clarify that the waiver has been granted, after receiving confirmation from Irene Cromer at PWCS.
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