It used to be that way a few decades ago. Labor Day marked the unofficial end of summer and the time for administrators, teachers and students to head back to the classrooms.
Lehe said one of the reasons for the shift to start school in the middle of August was due mainly to ISTEP testing in the fall. That argument no longer holds water as ISTEP tests have been moved to the spring.
Good point. Another reason advanced for the early end of the school year was that schools wanted to let students get a head start on available summer jobs. If that's so, a statewide calendar should solve the problem. Or would that step on local prerogatives?
