INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The first day for students in Indian River County will be Aug. 24 – not Aug. 10 as some had feared after discussions among those in the State Legislature.
The School Board Tuesday night approved the Aug. 24 calendar (referred to as Calendar A), a product of the School Calendar Committee, over the Aug. 10 calendar (referred to as Calendar B), which Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams presented.
David Medina, and others, encouraged the Board to approve the Aug. 24 calendar. As a father of two sons who are proud members of the Vero Beach High School Marching Band, Medina reminded the Board that an early start would affect the summer band camp, moving it up two weeks.
Beachland Elementary School PTA president Pat Blackburn said that those at her school were split over the proposed early start.
“Some of us aren’t OK with the start date happening so soon,” Blackburn said, explaining the concern stems from the short notice. Already, families are planning and some have already paid for summer vacations and have scheduled dental and health appointments.
With such an early start date, it’s possible that those vacations and appointments could run afoul of the school year.
Blackburn suggested that if the School Board wanted to start the school year early, then it should do so for the following school year, 2016-17.
“I am totally responsible for bringing this forward,” Dr. Adams said of the proposed early start calendar, explaining that she did so in order to spark discussion.
Dr. Adams said the State Legislature is trying to come up with a framework for School Districts to use to come up with a start date. That framework would allow for the first semester to be completed before Winter Break.
In defense of the Aug. 10 start date, Dr. Adams said it would provide students with an extra 15 days to review materials prior to state mandated tests, which could be a benefit to students.
While School Board members agreed that an early start date might be worthwhile, now is not the time to implement.
“I think it’s best to have time to have this marinate,” School Board member Shawn Frost said, adding that they should consider an early start for the 2016-17 school year. “We have to do what’s best for the students, academically.”
Fellow Board member Charles Searcy said the School District’s calendar should be based on current state law, not what it might be once the legislative session ends.
“Calendar A is the right ticket for our school district today,” he said.
Board member Claudia Jimenez commented that the bulk of the emails and messages she received from the community regarding the calendar centered on vacations – not on academics.
“We need a calendar that focuses on academics,” Jimenez said, adding, “We’re here to educate children.”
Board member Dale Simchick raised the issue of school being in session on Veterans Day, which falls on a Wednesday this year.
“It’s not that we don’t appreciate our veterans,” Simchick said. She explained that the district has found that student absenteeism is overly high when school is out mid-week for one day.
Board Chair Matt McCain agreed, noting that he has had conversations with veterans organizations in the county and the consensus has been that veterans would prefer to have students in school learning about Veterans Day and veterans rather than walking the mall.
