Opinion by Kelsey Shady
Students all over the state of Iowa are upset about the school start date being enforced in the 2015-16 school year.
Currently, our mid-August start date allows Mount Vernon to fit a whole semester and finals before break so students and teachers come back to a clean slate. Starting the week of Labor Day doesn’t allow enough time between September and December for an entire semester; therefore, when we come back from winter break we would still be in first semester. Students will have to study and do homework over break, a time that should be stress free.
Rather than test the learning over the course of the semester, exams given in January will merely show which students have the best memorization skills or least demanding travel schedules over winter break.
Mount Vernon’s schedule aligns with Kirkwood’s calendar to provide extra learning opportunities through college courses. Back in the 1980s when the law was passed mandating that schools begin the week of Labor Day, not as many high schools offered dual credit classes for students to get college credit while in high school. It is more important now than ever for high school calendars to begin the new semester with the new year.
One of the biggest reasons Governor Branstad does not want students to go back to school in August is so they will go to the State Fair, a money-maker for the state. Honestly, I don’t think changing the school start date will get more people to go to the fair. If people want to go to the fair now, missing the first week of school isn’t a huge deal; it’s usually review and it’s not very difficult to get caught up with the rest of your classmates. Even though the fair doesn’t affect us very much in the beginning of the school year, the new start date would negatively affect the middle of the school year.
The fact that all but two schools in Iowa apply for a waiver to start school early shows the law is dysfunctional and should be disposed of–not that it should be enforced with a firm hand. Lawmakers should use some common sense and allow school districts to make decisions on what best fits their needs.
