Norfolk schools opting for pre-Labor Day start
Parents, students, teachers favored later timetable
NORFOLK — The School Board voted for a pre-Labor Day start in the fall, adding to the growing list of Hampton Roads school systems opting for an earlier start.
After several rounds of voting on the upcoming academic year’s calendar, the board approved the option which starts Aug. 28, a week before Labor Day. The goal is to have more instructional time before state testing.
“Our students need that time to come in and to get introduced to their schools,” Board member Noelle Gabriel said, adding that after Labor Day, the students will be “ready to hit the pavement.”
The vote was 4-2, with Board Member Tanya Bhasin and Vice Chair Tiffany Moore-Buffaloe dissenting. Board member Carlos Clanton was not present Wednesday.
The approved calendar, which was presented in a work session earlier this month, included a “non-traditional” winter break from Dec. 25 through Jan. 5.
Another calendar with a post-Labor Day start was recommended by school administration because of support from community members and teachers.
Several board members said they were not in favor of that because they wanted students in the classrooms earlier. Other board members said they wanted the early start as well but favored a phased approach and were in support of the administration’s recommendation. Bhasin Moore-Buffaloe said they support an early start but had concerns about it being “done right.”
Bhasin said she would be in favor of supporting the administration’s recommendation, even though, “I think most of us don’t love it,” and then look at an early start for the following academic year.
During the Feb. 1 presentation, Chief Academic Officer James Pohl shared survey results that showed the calendar with a post-Labor Day start was preferred by parents, students, teachers and staff. School-based administrators and others were in favor of the calendar option, the second most popular calendar, which was approved by the board Wednesday.
Other schools in Hampton Roads are looking at earlier starts. Divisions in Virginia Beach, Newport News, Hampton, Williamsburg-James City County and York County already have made the change. The Portsmouth and Chesapeake school boards recently voted against an earlier start.