News : Survey first step in school calendar discussion

When should the school year start and end?

Is the day before Memorial Day the best day for graduation?

Should Vinton-Shellsburg consider a year-round calendar, rather than the current one which includes a more lengthy summer vacation?

A total of 274 Vinton-Shellsburg residents answered these and other questions about the school calendar during a recent survey.

“The survey was not a vote; it was a form of collecting data when trying to produce a calendar that meets our requirements,” said Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock.

The school board discussed the calendar during its meeting last week. Hainstock shared some comments about the survey in the Februrary school newsletter. Several school board members participate in the calendar committee that sets the calendar for future years.

The survey yielded the following consensus:

1. School should start in mid-August and end at the end of May.
2. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving should be a day off.
3. There should be a spring break around Easter, with some additional days added in as snow make-up days.
4. Consider using Fridays as the days for early dismissals for students/professional development for teachers.
5. Continue building snow days into the school calendar, so the school year does not end up extending into June if there is a winter with many snow events.
6. Some suggested moving graduation to another weekend besides the Memorial Day weekend.
7. Many expressed interest in the year-round school calendar, but the lack of air conditioning in some district buildings (especially the Middle School) and other factors must be resolved before this option can be seriously considered in the future.

Click HERE for some questions and answers about the calendar and the survey.

Click HERE for the results of a similar survey taken in early 2010, including the comments made by the respondents.