Continue with online classes or take a break? That’s the decision facing school districts across the state as teachers and parents look ahead to their traditional April vacation at the end of the month.
School district officials are working to balance two competing needs when deciding whether or not to adjust April vacation schedules – giving parents and teachers who have been busy with remote learning a rest, or pushing through to the end of the year so kids can finish school early.
“No matter what you decide, you’re going to make people mad,” Concord School Board member Chuck Crush said during a virtual meeting Monday. “I think this is one of those situations when you’re between a rock and a hard place, so to speak.”
Some districts in the state, like Amherst and Merrimack, have elected to cancel April vacation entirely. Others, like Kearsarge and Merrimack Valley, have opted to shorten the break. Still more have decided to go ahead with the break as planned.
Concord announced earlier this month that it would carry on with April vacation, giving teachers and students five days off between April 27 and May 1. However, during a special board meeting on Monday, Concord School District Interim Superintendent Frank Bass said some members of the community asking him to reconsider.
“I have been approached by some parents, not a lot, but the list is growing, about perhaps not having April vacation. Obviously, there are pros and cons to that,” Bass told the board. “I know there are a lot of districts that are trying to figure out what the best way to go is.”
The benefits of canceling the break are that it allows families to continue their routines with remote learning and plow ahead. Canceling April vacation altogether would allow Concord to finish school around June 3, Bass said. The last day of school is set for June 11 now.
However, Bass acknowledged that the transition process to remote learning has been draining for the community, especially for staff.
“Most of the faculty have been working weekends, they’ve been working all hours to try and make this thing work,” Bass said. “This is not an easy task to get the remote learning to work for every kid in every grade level.”
A break would be a chance to recharge.
“I’m really concerned about where the faculty lie in this, because I don’t want them to be overtaxed, I don’t want them to feel like this is too much of a burden. We want to make sure that our faculty are well taken care of,” he added.
Bass said a survey on April vacation scheduling went out earlier this week to faculty, and that the results would weigh heavily on the district’s decision.
Still a third option is shortening the break, Bass said, something Merrimack Valley has elected to do.
Andover and Merrimack Valley Superintendent Mark MacLean said the school boards in his districts decided to elect for a long weekend instead of taking a full week for April break.
In the Andover School District, the school board voted to adjust the April Break schedule to a three-day weekend, giving students Monday, April 27 off. In the Merrimack Valley School District, there will be no school on Monday, April 27 and Tuesday, April 28.
MacLean said these decisions were made using feedback from 1,000 community members. He said it was not an easy decision since the feedback was pretty split.
“Ultimately providing a brief respite while mitigating the risk of interrupting remote learning momentum were overarching considerations,” MacLean wrote in an email about the boards’ decisions. “Both boards spoke at length about social/emotional wellness, the need for some sort of break, the value of schedules, the benefit of keeping people connected, and also allowing folks the ability to cut the tethers to their screens for a while. Above all, the boards are concerned for the health and wellness of their communities.”
The Bow School District is doing a community survey this week to poll how the public is feeling on the issue, Superintendent Dean Cascadden said. He said officials are considering shortening the break.
“We were concerned about taking a whole week and then trying to get back in and ramp back into this,” Cascadden said. “We want to give people a break, but at the same time, we’ve got some momentum. We don’t want to lose it all.”
Cascadden said the governor’s decision to keep remote learning going through the end of the school year would play a role in the decision.
“I think that may impact what people think about this,” he said.
The Franklin School Board will meet Monday night to make a decision on April vacation, Superintendent Dan LeGallo said.
Concord School Board members put the decision in Bass’s hands. Most said they were leaning toward keeping some form of April break in place.
“Under extreme circumstances, you stay with what you know, and we know we have a vacation coming up that’s been planned for a long time,” Board member David Parker said. “If people are working really hard, a break would be nice.”