Ridgewood BOE to Discuss New School Calendar at Meeting Monday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m
Ridgewood NJ , According to Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D. “Developing a school calendar is a delicate balancing act that requires much thought and input.
The process involved my submission of five different calendar options to a committee of
parents, students, teachers and administrators. This committee then makes a final
recommendation to the Ridgewood Board of Education, which can endorse it, select another of the drafts, or choose to develop its own calendar.
What I have heard is people want to start the school year after Labor Day, have the customary federal day holidays off, and include full breaks for December, February and April while ending the school year as early in June as possible. Such a calendar is certainly ideal but it an almost an impossible mission to accomplish. Therefore, the committee is tasked with proposing a calendar that is based on a compromise of all stakeholders’ priorities and needs. It is important to remember that the goals of the school calendar are to meet academic and state requirements while addressing our students’ need for family time.”
The Ridgewood Board of Education will be discussing – and hopefully approving — the 2015- 2016 calendar at its meeting on Monday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. Soon thereafter, the committee will begin working on the 2016-2017 calendar. I encourage you to come to the Board meeting at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, or to watch the meeting from home via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us, FiOS channel 33 or Optimum channel 77.
Readers Comment ,”Graduation last year was on June 26th….a ridiculous date. Almost July for godsakes.
Start in August and finish up early.
Next question….”
“Why not cut back on the various breaks?”
“Many colleges start orientation programs in June. Our kids are still having exams and senior events.”
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No matter what they do there will be unhappy residents. It is a trade-off and we don’t want to give anything up.
Personally, I would have liked one break in March.
Starting in August is okay. High school sports have already ruined summer. Parents with “athletes” would not mind starting early. They have to be back the second week of August anyway.