School start date

Springfield News-Leader

If school starts after Labor Day, agricultural leaders complain that farm children won't be able to help in the fields come spring.

If school starts before Labor Day, tourism leaders complain that they lose young workers they need during the week.

Two decades ago, they flexed their muscles and got the legislature to mandate that school start after the holiday. It worked for a couple of years, but schools quickly found a way around the law.

Both industries naturally put their needs first. But how's this for a novel thought: Let's start school at a time that makes most sense for the education of young people.

School leaders say that's why they have pushed start times as early as (this week). It gives students more time to master the material they'll need to pass the high-stakes Missouri Assessment Program tests.

Earlier starting days also ensure that snow days won't keep teachers from enrolling in continuing education college classes in the summer. School boards can build in longer breaks at Thanksgiving and Christmas. ...

Teachers often find themselves using the first weeks of a new school year to review what students learned the previous year. The three months of summer vacation provide ample time to forget those lessons.

Would education be better served if students went to school year round, with three- or four-week breaks scattered throughout the year? Some districts have tried it. Are they getting better results, or is there no difference? ... We are weary of the arguments that a certain late-summer starting date hurts this or that industry. We would much rather see the debate center on what is best for students, for whom education exists. When we debate that question, year-round school should be one of the considerations.