First days of school kick off this week

Students in Murray County, Georgia, still have the latest school start date in the Chattanooga region with a post-Labor Day launch on Sept. 3, but most other area systems start this week or next.

All three school systems in Coffee County, Tennessee, and the county system in Chattooga County, Georgia, begin the school year Thursday, Aug. 1 — the earliest public school start in the region.

Coffee County Director of Schools Dr. Charles Lawson and Chattooga County Schools Superintendent Jared Hosmer were involved in in-service training the day before classes started and couldn’t be reached for comment.

For Chattooga County students, parents and staff, Thursday marks a return to a fiveday school week after maintaining a four-day school week since 2010.

It’s a busy time for everyone.

On Friday, students go back to class in all public schools in Franklin, Grundy and Rhea counties, including Dayton City School in Tennessee, along with Trion City Schools in Georgia.

Monday, Athens City Schools, Cleveland City Schools and schools in Sequatchie County go back to

class, and Tuesday will be the first day of school for students in Bledsoe, Bradley and Polk counties and Etowah City School students in East McMinn County.

Wednesday, students go back to class in Hamilton and Meigs counties in Tennessee, Dade, Walker and Dalton Public Schools in Georgia and all public county and city schools in DeKalb and Jackson counties in Alabama.

Next Thursday, Aug. 8, will be the first day of school in McMinn County and at Marion County’s Richard Hardy Memorial School in Tennessee, and for Chickamauga City Schools and Whitfield County schools in Georgia.

Aug. 12 is the first day of school for students in Georgia’s Catoosa County Public Schools and Tennessee’s Marion County Schools.

But that old school clock moves a little slower just east of Georgia’s Conasauga River.

Murray County Schools punted those early August school start dates a decade ago with the adoption of a 160-day school calendar that went into effect at the end of summer 2009. A parent poll at the time netted 93% support for the idea, and officials in 2009 figured a longer school day and shorter year would curb operational costs.

That year, Murray County students enjoyed the longest summer ever, and for every school year since, students haven’t gone back to class until after Labor Day.

Murray County Schools director of secondary teaching and learning Spencer Gazaway constructs each school year’s academic calendar. He said the shift to the late start has had parental support throughout the 2010s.

Gazaway polls parents, students, student councils and staff every year to gauge whether folks still like it, he said. The approval percentage is even higher most of the time than the first year, he said.

Murray County’s post-Labor Day kickoff isn’t likely to go away soon.

“I don’t foresee that happening. As long as state law and the state department of education policies allow flexibility in the school day/school year, we’ll continue to have a 160-day calendar,” Gazaway said.

If community support wanes or state requirements change, then the school system will respond accordingly, he said.

Until then, Murray County kids can hit the snooze button for another month.

Everybody else, up and at ’em.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-7576569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/ benbenton1.