Peninsula districts weigh starting school on Aug. 30
NEWPORT NEWS — For decades, it’s been a predictable affair in Hampton Roads — the first day of school is the Tuesday after Labor Day.
Many districts outside of Tidewater have long since moved start dates up, and a change to state law in 2019 allows schools to start up to two weeks before Labor Day. Despite that, local school boards have hesitated to make the change.
But this isn’t any regular year. With the pandemic and a potential conflict with a major Jewish holiday, some Peninsula schools are weighing starting school on Monday, Aug. 30.
“The upcoming school year calendar has presented challenges and opportunities that we’ve not experienced in past years,” said Tracy Brooks, special assistant to the Newport News superintendent at a school board meeting last month. She said it’s the first time they’ve presented the board with two dates.
Newport News, Hampton, York and Williamsburg-James City have brought up the idea to their school boards. Those districts, along with Gloucester and Poquoson, participate in a joint calendar planning committee.
No boards have approved an earlier start yet, but school officials point to several benefits of a Labor Day return.
It would mean getting students back to school earlier to address any coronavirus-related learning gaps, an increasingly major concern for schools across the country. It’d give more instructional days before spring tests and fewer days afterwards. A preLabor Day start also would allow for more teacher workdays. “It would allow us to provide students with targeted instruction that first week of school by focusing on remediation and intervention strategies,” Brooks said.
At a Hampton School Board meeting Wednesday, director of innovation and professional learning Kate Maxlow said that a pre-Labor Day start would give the district three “banked” instructional days. That’d give more room for inclement weather cancellations without cutting workdays or extending the year.
Starting before Labor Day also would avoid a conflict with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year celebration that starts on the evening of Sept. 6 and ends at nightfall on Sept. 8. The day after Labor Day falls right in the middle, and schools have been hesitant about starting school during such a major holiday.
Last year, the Virginia Beach School Board walked back a draft calendar for this coming school year because of the holiday. Some Peninsula proposals include starting school on Wednesday, Sept. 8 even if school boards reject a pre-Labor Day start.
Hampton officials said at Wednesday’s meeting they were still inclined to start on Tuesday, citing the district’s policies allowing absences for religious ceremonies.
“We understand that we are a diverse community with different family and religious traditions. So given this, we do have policies that allow for opportunities for individuals to meet both their work and their faith obligations,” Maxlow said.
But despite the unusual circumstances, an earlier start would still face opposition.
A number of businesses and the tourism business had pushed back when the state repealed the law from the 1980s mandating a post-Labor Day start. Starting before Labor Day could also set up a conflict with Hampton Roads schools outside the Peninsula if they don’t change their start dates.
It’s also not clear how popular the idea would be with parents. In Virginia Beach last year, the School Board had chosen not to start before Labor Day because of parent feedback before realizing the conflict with Rosh Hashanah.
Hampton officials presented Wednesday a survey that received over 2,700 responses asking whether Aug. 30 or Sept. 7 was preferred. About 65% of respondents chose a post-Labor Day start.
The final decision comes down to boards, who are set to vote in the coming weeks. Williamsburg-James City County is still soliciting feedback, but at a board meeting Tuesday, a number of members tentatively backed the earlier start.
“I feel for everybody who’s desperate to just get their kids back, five days,” said Julie Hummel. “The sooner we can do all that for them, the better.”