Update: State College Area School Board approved the 2023-24 calendar during its meeting on Dec. 19.
Original story:
The State College Area School Board appears poised to adopt a 2023-24 school calendar that will again start with a shortened week coinciding with the Centre County Grange Fair and will add two days off for religious holiday observances.
Representatives of the district’s Calendar Committee presented two options at the board’s meeting on Monday night. The board informally agreed to move forward with one that will have classes begin on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with a scheduled day off on Friday, Aug. 25. The proposed calendar also adds days off on Sept. 25 for observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and April 10 for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
The other calendar option proposed by the committee had a start date of Monday, Aug. 21, with Aug. 25 as a day off and did not include days off for the two religious holidays.
State College long had a four-day opening week but after months of discussion and debate moved to a three-day start for 2022-23. Families of students in organizations like 4-H had urged the district to start after the Grange Fair like other districts in the county so that they could participate in agricultural activities at the fair without missing the first days of school.
The compromise was a three-day week, one that will likely continue in 2023-24. Two board members voiced concerns about the impact of the shortened week, particularly on younger students. Board member Amy Bader said the first days of school are often important for “quick, early… assessments” at the elementary level, and that data has shown school days earlier in the year have more educational impact than at the end of the year.
“I certainly am not asking anyone to go back and recreate the calendar but I think I would be quite comfortable to still have a four-day week should the administration say at some point that is more valuable,” Bader said.
Board President Amber Concepcion worried about the impact on kindergartners, who would only have a two-day opening week because their first day is reserved for orientation.
“That’s a really short start for kindergarten,” Concepcion said. “I think that’s one of thing that gives me pause about that three-day week, is knowing it is a two-day week for our kids who are not having time to build some momentum.”
Board members also credited the community for advocating for the inclusion of the two religious holidays.
“We have been hearing from families in the Jewish community for years now about just the challenges with when their children are missing school consistently on those days and that those are never days off for them, which is inequitable in comparison to the rest of the community that has religious holidays off,” Concepcion said.
Under the proposed calendar, spring break is scheduled for March 4-8, again coinciding with Penn State’s. The last day of school is scheduled for June 4, with commencement on June 7. SCASD also will request from the Department of Education five flexible instruction days that can be used at its discretion following the use of the five snow days.
The board is expected to vote on the calendar during its meeting on Dec. 19
