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Maine Township High School District 207 School Board has passed a proposal which changes the 2015-2016 Maine Township High School District 207 calendar. The new calendar has classes beginning August 12, 2015 and ending May 26, 2016. The basis of the change was to have first semester exams take place prior to Winter Break as opposed to afterwards, which is the current timing.
According to the School Board, a majority of survey respondents said they would prefer aligning the end of the first semester with the beginning of winter break even if making that change means that:
School will start earlier in August.(Which is during the nicest time of year. Also, could possibly coincide with IHSA summer break for athletes, so technically, summer athletes will only get one week of IHSA summer break.)Some previous school holidays -- such as Columbus Day, Veterans Day -- will now become student attendance days. (Except your younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64 will still have these holidays!)
School will end earlier than in the past, sometime prior to Memorial Day most years.(While again, your younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64 will still be in school for two more weeks.)
The Board and District 207 Administrators believe the new calendar will offer several advantages, including: Providing students with an increased number of instructional days before taking Illinois standardized tests, along with ACT and AP exams, in the spring. (It is not proven that 10 days earlier in the year will have any impact on these tests which occur later.)
Creating a more relaxing winter break for students and their families, by relieving students of the need to prepare for final exams scheduled after the break. (The Winter break is now nearly three weeks long during the worst time of year weather-wise and is ONE WEEK longer than younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64. Plus, some students might prefer the extra study time, prior to exams.)
Giving Maine East, Maine South and Maine West students an advantage in seeking summer employment, as they will be available to begin work in late May instead of mid-June. (Perhaps, but many students work as camp counselors, lifeguards, etc., which will not make them good candidates because they will be back in school before camps are over/pools closed.)
Please sign this petition if you are OPPOSED to the change in this calendar. Thank you.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
September 2, 2014
7 Comments
So now my kids are on different schedules for the holidays. Way to make family vacations impossible for us. Thanks for nothing.
STARTING IN AUGUST IS TOO EARLY. STOP MESSING WITH THE CALENDAR WHEN THE OLD ONE WORKED JUST FINE.
Ridiculous. We lose an entire week of summer break and keeping kids in school on days like Columbus Day is just plain wrong.
My son plays summer sports and this schedule basically kills his entire break. Does the board even talk to normal families before deciding this stuff?
Total headache for parents with kids in different districts. Why do they insist on making things harder for us?
I agree no change
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Maine Township High School District 207 School Board has passed a proposal which changes the 2015-2016 Maine Township High School District 207 calendar. The new calendar has classes beginning August 12, 2015 and ending May 26, 2016. The basis of the change was to have first semester exams take place prior to Winter Break as opposed to afterwards, which is the current timing.
According to the School Board, a majority of survey respondents said they would prefer aligning the end of the first semester with the beginning of winter break even if making that change means that:
School will start earlier in August.(Which is during the nicest time of year. Also, could possibly coincide with IHSA summer break for athletes, so technically, summer athletes will only get one week of IHSA summer break.)Some previous school holidays -- such as Columbus Day, Veterans Day -- will now become student attendance days. (Except your younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64 will still have these holidays!)
School will end earlier than in the past, sometime prior to Memorial Day most years.(While again, your younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64 will still be in school for two more weeks.)
The Board and District 207 Administrators believe the new calendar will offer several advantages, including: Providing students with an increased number of instructional days before taking Illinois standardized tests, along with ACT and AP exams, in the spring. (It is not proven that 10 days earlier in the year will have any impact on these tests which occur later.)
Creating a more relaxing winter break for students and their families, by relieving students of the need to prepare for final exams scheduled after the break. (The Winter break is now nearly three weeks long during the worst time of year weather-wise and is ONE WEEK longer than younger children enrolled in Niles-Park Ridge School District 64. Plus, some students might prefer the extra study time, prior to exams.)
Giving Maine East, Maine South and Maine West students an advantage in seeking summer employment, as they will be available to begin work in late May instead of mid-June. (Perhaps, but many students work as camp counselors, lifeguards, etc., which will not make them good candidates because they will be back in school before camps are over/pools closed.)
Please sign this petition if you are OPPOSED to the change in this calendar. Thank you.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
September 2, 2014
7 Comments
Depriving children of a summer vacation so the ISAT grades which is only for the teachers report card and agenda is very transparent and self serving. Again families are on the loosing end.
So now my kids are on different schedules for the holidays. Way to make family vacations impossible for us. Thanks for nothing.
STARTING IN AUGUST IS TOO EARLY. STOP MESSING WITH THE CALENDAR WHEN THE OLD ONE WORKED JUST FINE.
Ridiculous. We lose an entire week of summer break and keeping kids in school on days like Columbus Day is just plain wrong.
My son plays summer sports and this schedule basically kills his entire break. Does the board even talk to normal families before deciding this stuff?
Total headache for parents with kids in different districts. Why do they insist on making things harder for us?
I agree no change
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Depriving children of a summer vacation so the ISAT grades which is only for the teachers report card and agenda is very transparent and self serving. Again families are on the loosing end.