Kristina Potter
As days become hotter, afternoons become freer and a sense of relief after finals sweeps over us all, one thing becomes clear: summer is here. When we think of summer, we imagine a long, fun-filled break, yet this break seems to come to an abrupt halt during the summer season. This year, Poly started school on August 21st; the temperature was still in the high 80s/low 90s, the campus baked in heat, not a single fall leaf on the ground.
So why do we start school so early?
A 2015 study from CNN shows that increasingly more states start their schools in mid to late August rather than after Labor Day, which was, at one point, the traditional starting time and the one my old school on the East Coast honored. Poly seems to echo this trend, with its start date appearing earlier in the calendar over the past decade. Mr. Melgoza explained, “As sports seasons (which are governed by the California Interscholastic Federation) have moved towards starting in mid-August, it has pushed schools to start earlier and earlier to accommodate our athletic programs.” However, as important as sports are, they should not dictate our yearly schedule, given that practices are flexible, and student-athletes only represent so much of our student body. It is time for Poly to rethink its start date to be after September 1st.
Starting school with this later date comes with a list of benefits. It gives students more time to decompress from the work and pressure of the previous school year, which improves their well-being and reduces burnout for the next school year. The improvement in their mental health helps them to start the school year in a positive mindset. When students’ time to decompress is extended, and they feel they have enjoyed a full summer of rest, the mood, energy and engagement in the classroom are boosted. A better learning environment allows students to be more focused and engaged in what they are learning. Summer break is also crucial for teachers. It not only supports their well-being by providing a relaxing break, but an extended break would give them more time to curate lesson plans and prepare for the upcoming school year. Teaching is a profession requiring a great amount of patience and dedication. Thus, the summer months allow teachers to take much-needed, restful breaks. The heat is also a significant factor. August is one of the hottest, if not the hottest, months of the year. Not only is the heat uncomfortable, but it also makes it more difficult for students to focus. Freshman
Amira Shamsi noted, “Everyone would rather sit outside and enjoy hot weather and not be cooped up in a classroom.”
And combating the heat costs Poly money because of energy bills. In order to make classrooms suitable for learning, Poly has to pay for air conditioning, upping the school’s expenses. These high August temperatures also make it harder for school activities, especially sports, to function. For outdoor sports that take place in the fall, such as football, cross country and tennis, the heat poses a risk to student well-being, leading to cancelled or modified practices that decrease playing time. Thus, if each school year begins weeks later in September, when the weather is cooler, Poly will not only be more likely to save on these expenditures, but students would also have a more enjoyable start to the year.
Starting school later would give students more unstructured time to develop their creativity and independence. We need to learn how to structure our own time, finding ways to fill our free days with productive and enjoyable activities, which will serve us even when we return to a strict schedule in the school year. Additionally, summer is a fantastic time for students to take advantage of other opportunities, whether it be jobs, volunteering or summer programs. Some summer academic enrichment programs run through mid to late August, meaning many Poly students either can’t attend them or have little time to transition between the program and the start of school. But even if these programs end earlier, starting school in mid-August leaves little to no time for family, another important factor. Many families plan vacations or time with extended family in August, particularly toward the end of the month when airline prices drop and destinations are less crowded. When school starts in the middle of August, families are forced to sacrifice some of that meaningful time together.
Shamsi expressed, “It would be too nice to have time where most people would be at school, but we wouldn’t have school to actually gain quality time with our families”. Some might argue that starting school earlier helps reduce summer learning loss, but this concern is often overstated. Research shows that learning loss is more closely tied to the quality of education during the year than the length of summer itself. A 2020 report by the Brookings Institution found, “Extending the school year or starting earlier has minimal long-term academic benefits unless it is paired with targeted, high-quality interventions.” In other words, starting a few weeks earlier in August does not significantly boost retention or performance. Rather, a later start time has been linked to better academic outcomes.
Instead of cutting summer short, schools should invest in optional summer enrichment and allow students to be more focused when the school year actually starts. All in all, rethinking Poly’s start date isn’t just about clinging to tradition or spoiling students with longer breaks, but it means prioritizing tangible benefits, maximizing all the things summer has to offer and creating an environment at the beginning of the year where everyone is ready to learn. Ms. Williams noted, “We now have a week break at Thanksgiving and a two-week spring break, so we need to get the required academic days somewhere.”
Even if it means cutting a few days from these breaks, which are already so short that we don’t have time to completely get our minds off school, we must take advantage of the break that we can truly benefit from to the fullest and start school after Labor Day.