With winter break approaching, students are excited to cast aside thoughts of school and embrace limitless sleep. However, some will return to campus having nearly forgotten everything they’ve previously learned, only to realize that finals are in two weeks. Many aren’t prepared.
Our district starts school nearly three weeks later than most of our surrounding districts, causing various issues. Our fall sports teams have less time to get ready for their season than their opponents do. Some AP students have less instructional time to prepare for AP exams and seniors have less instructional time as well to prepare their college applications.
After winter break, students are given only two weeks to recall the previous five months of instruction for finals. Temple City Education Association Union must negotiate a contract with TCUSD to start the school year earlier. Without ample time to prepare for important exams, such as the APs, that students encounter every year, students’ mental health is impacted by the stress this issue creates.
Lack of preparation also can negatively impact students’ results on exams. Some teachers, like those who don’t teach AP classes, may not see a point to a change, but the negative impact our start dates have on students’ mental health and academics provides enough reason.
The change in schedule results in one short summer in order to fit the changes in the year, which many students and teachers might not appreciate. However, this is a small and temporary price to pay for the academic benefits. Additionally, though TCUSD elementary schools have no reason to change their schedules, majority of those students will eventually reach high school and be impacted by these same problems.
Changing the school start dates has its pros and cons. However, due to the impact and potential benefits of changing the dates, they must change, as it will allow students to better prepare for important events that take place throughout the school year, lowering stress levels and allowing for students to do better academically. As these issues have a huge impact on the student body, they should be addressed accordingly to improve students’ learning experience in our district.