By Maddie Miller
staff writer
Everyone has noticed it, and everyone has been talking about it. From the annoyed students to the confused teachers- they are all wondering why Northview district’s winter break is significantly shorter this year than it has been previously. In the 2015-2016 school year, Northview had 16 total days off, whereas this school year, they only have 11 total days off. This has caused mass confusion as to who changed it and questioning what the reasoning behind the decision was.Matt Coty, Union President and math teacher at Northview High School, sheds some light on this mystery. “The state legislatures who were elected decided that they were requiring schools to be in session 5 extra days in the school year- without providing the schools with any extra money for this addition,” Coty said. The people who go to work in their offices, with far less frequency than any teachers or students, has stated a mandate for the number of ‘wake-ups’ in a school year, which has now increased from 175 to 180.
The theory is to “try and increase the number of days and frequency of instruction,” according to Deb Asano, Associate Superintendent for teaching, learning and technology services for the Michigan Legislature. “Any district that fails to comply with these new requirements would end up forfeiting money from their total state aid allocation,” she said during an interview with TV 6.
Adding in the 5 days was mandatory, but individual districts had to weigh the options of where to slip them in. It became clear, after a rejected request to the Kent Intermediate School District for Northview to begin before Labor Day, that these days would drastically change the calendar. The district would either have to shorten the winter break- or extend the school year into summer until June 19th. In a school with no air conditioning and antsy students during that season, Coty and others decided the winter break option would have to suffice. “Our hands were tied, and we didn’t want to do it either. If it were my choice, we would be out of school December 16th. However, it was out of my hands and out of anyone in the community’s as well,” he says.
The fact is that no matter where the extra 5 days were put, people would still be frustrated with the change made by the Michigan Legislature. Instead of dwelling on the uncontrollable situation, there could be some hidden benefits to the shorter break. Exams come up quickly in January after students return from break, and having less time away from school may help students retain the information and score better on the exams. Time will tell whether this is a factor, but it will be interesting for teachers and administration to look for a correlation.
In the end, any breaks during the school year are much appreciated by teachers, students, and their families. The state legislature made a decision that, for better or for worse, affects the length of one of the cherished breaks. School districts in Michigan did their best to adapt to the mandate and take into careful consideration how to deal with it within their limited options. There has been a fair amount of talk surrounding this situation, but now people can know the real reason winter break has been shortened for the 2016-2017 school year.
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