Stoneham school system is set for summer opening on August 31
Published on August 24th, 2005
For the first time in recent memory, the hallowed halls of the Stoneham school system will crack open while the calendar still reads August this season. With Labor falling on September 5, all Stoneham schools will be open for learning on Wednesday Aug. 31 - a school year commencement that has raised the eyebrows of some parents that are used to school commencing the Wednesday after Labor Day.
According to Stoneham Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Connelly, the school is one of seven or eight in the area that will be starting in August this year.
"It [starting school at the end of August] really doesn't [hold a lot of significance]...many schools currently start school before Labor Day," said Connelly. "It's very routine. What we have in our teacher contract is that if Labor Day falls on the 5th, 6th, or 7th then we have a pre-Labor Day start, and if Labor Day falls on the beginning four days of September - then we have a traditional calendar and post-Labor Day start. Last year and this year were both late Labor Days, so the first day of school last year was September 1 and this year it's August 31. There are many surrounding towns that have been incorporating the pre-Labor Day start for years, and have routinely started in August."
The Aug. 31 start marks the first day of school during the eighth month of the year in at least the last eight years - and could date back much farther than that. The early start is also necessary, according to Connelly, because of the harsh New England winters that typically extend the school year into late June.
"It's a pre-existing condition just waiting to happen," said Connelly. "It's just happenstance and I don't think many people have even noticed that we're starting in August. By opening and getting in two days on Wednesday and Thursday, it takes a little pressure off us with snow days in winter and helps us get out in June. Our last day was June 21, and the pre-Labor Day certainly helped us last year. Most of the school systems that began after Labor Day were ending school around June 28, so it helps us end a little bit sooner."
While the school systems in Lynnfield and Burlington are indeed beginning on Aug. 31, school systems such as Wakefield (Sep. 7), Woburn (Sep. 8), Reading (Sep. 6), North Reading (Sep. 8), Winchester (Sep. 6), Medford (Sep. 7), Belmont and Lexington (both are having partial openings on Sep. 7 before a full opening on Sep. 8) are waiting for a traditional post-Labor Day start.
The school opening - among other nuggets of information being conveyed to parents - was also a good excuse for the school department to utilize their ed-connect system - a reverse 911 emergency phone system that will allow the administration, principals, clubs or any number of organizations to place calls to a select group of parents. The system was funded by several private donors including local PTO's as well as the local cable companies in town.
According to Connelly, the system can be used for any number of things - from giving parents a 6:30 a.m. call notifying them of school cancellations to allowing better lines of communication during school emergencies.
"We thought this was absolutely critically needed," said Connelly. "The intent is to have it there in case of emergencies, but the nice thing is that it can be used in so many more subsets. It can be used by individual clubs of teams, and can also be used by individual schools to get information quickly to parents."
The first message consisted of Connelly placing a phone call to parents asking them to return a postcard asking for back-up phone numbers - in order to make the system more effective and also remind them that school doors will be opening on Aug. 31.
"The more numbers we have, the more parents we can contact and the more effective the system can be," said Connelly. "I must have bumped into at least seven or eight people who said 'Oh Joe...I got your phone call." It gives it a little more of personal touch."
Connelly added that the schools will utilize all tools to notify the thousands of Stoneham families in the school system of school closures, but was happy to a new tool to the school's arsenal.
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