Traditional and year-round calendars discussed

NEWBERRY — The Newberry County School District Board of Trustees met on July 25 to re-examine the appeal for a year-round 2023-2024 school calendar year.

Mary Alex Kopp, a Newberry County resident and Newberry High School graduate, spoke to the board as they finalized their decision for a year-round school calendar. In her remarks, Kopp outlined the thrill of sending her child to a year-round school and preventing burnout from having breaks built into the year. Additionally, she highlighted possible benefits of year-round school, including food security for students, and decreased childcare costs in the summer months when students are home. Kopp noted that there is limited research on the long-term effects of implanting a year-round school; however, she said the Newberry County School District can potentially aid in providing that research to the public.

The School District of Newberry County opened an initial two-week feedback survey to gauge the interest of students, teachers, community members and faculty for comments regarding a traditional calendar versus a year-round school calendar. The survey ended on July 28, 2022, with over 2,100 responses.

Carson Ware, chief human resources officer, highlighted the top reasons, as commented on the survey, for a traditional style calendar which included summer vacations, summer jobs, athletics and childcare. People also mentioned the benefit of remaining traditional avoided change altogether. Individuals in favor of year-round school addressed the success of surrounding school districts and decreased burnout for both students and teachers.

The board discussed that many parents and guardians have limited information regarding the year-round calendar; therefore, more information should be provided to them by the district. For the ultimate decision regarding the 2023-2024 school year, the board decided on further research and feedback with outlined positives and negatives for both the traditional and year-round calendars.

Alvin Pressley, Newberry County School District superintendent, also noted that, “there will be town hall meetings to answer any questions parents or community members may have regarding the year-round school calendar.”