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Welcome to Laurie Goodman's blog. I use this space to share news and opinions about education and schools in Ridgewood, the state of New Jersey and the nation, in addition to other issues I'm personally interested in. I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, questions or opinions, too, by posting comments on any blog entry. Please observe basic courtesy -- keep your comments focused on issues, no personal attacks or bullying, please. Contact me directly at: lauriegood@mac.com

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Goodbye summer, hello school!

Last day of summer 09...bright and early tomorrow morning I'll be attending the Convocation, where all the teachers in the district gather in the BF Auditorium to kick-off the new school year. Looking forward to it. Will report more on it tomorrow night.

Drag out those backpacks...sneakers (no more flip flops!)...number 2 pencils...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just curious...What was the rationale for beginning the school year before Labor Day? What do we gain?

Laurie Goodman said...

We gain a little bit more summer before July 4th next year. The rationale was...it would be better to start school earlier (9/2) rather than have school end as late as June 30. The district's calendar committee -- which has parent members as well as staff -- worked hard as they always do to create a calendar that accommodates holidays, breaks, state testing at all levels (the state changed its calendar again for testing), and many other factors.

This year Labor Day is the latest it can possibly be, Sept. 7. The last time Labor Day was this late, was 1998. That year, Ridgewood teachers started work before the holiday weekend, and students started the day after Labor Day. (But back then, we didn't close for any Jewish holidays). This year, Ridgewood -- along with dozens of other districts, in fact the majority of local districts (see the Bergen Record 8/31/09) -- decided to start before the holiday. We discussed the calendar at public meetings in (I believe) April, May and June.

Sorry, long answer to your question, but I thought it would help to understand the context.

Anonymous said...

That's a solid rationale. We adapted with a little disappointment, but no real problem. I was just interested in the decision-making process. Thx