Sounds great to me. I think it's disturbing that we are shooting for the minimum number of school days, and the minimum number of school hours. I'd like to take a fresh look at the school calendar. One week of vacation in the Spring sounds fine. I'd like to eliminate all religious holidays too. There will still be federal and state holidays. And then we can talk about all these early release days. No reason we can't have 185 school days and have summer vacation from around June 20 to around September 5.

Many years ago Framingham did get rid of the February and April vacation weeks and replaced them with one week off in March. Many parents were unhappy with the one week off and it was switched back to the 2 separate weeks the next year. I heard that some people wanted to have a break in February to interrupt all the flu and other germs that were getting passed around the schools. Also, people wanted to have the same vacation weeks as the surrounding towns. (I think Framingham was hoping the surrounding towns would also adopt the March vacation, but they didn't.) I liked the one week off in March, but I was in the minority.

I remember when Framingham go rid of the February vacation week and it was great. We just get through with Christmas break and it seems they are on vacation again. Leave the April vacation alone by then the kids need a break from the cold weather and school. So I say they go back to no February Vacation and leave the April Vacation alone.

They tried it years ago and both parents and teachers weren't happy about it, since they felt that you needed that Feb. break to get rid of the germs. Also, with President's Day in February and Patriots' Day in April, which are state holidays, kids would still need those days off. By doing a week in March, and eliminating Feb. and April, the net savings is only 3 days.

There are children who do not do well with being in and out of the school routine so often especially those with special needs who thrive on routine and are more vulnerable to change in schedules. For all children though, I think having four vacations so close together (Christmas and Thanksgiving are a given) is a loss of time for kids and learning when they are in and out of school so much. My vote is for one March or April vacation in the Spring.

I could see consolidating them into one, in March. Paying for two lots of vacation camp sure adds up!

I'm all for eliminating some of the school vacations....there are too many during the year. Love the idea of cutting out some of the half days.....way too many!

There are far too many early release days! One vacation in either March or April (if you want it to include Patriot's Day) would be plenty. There are lots of disruptions with all the early release days and misc. days off.

I agree it may be hard for one community like Framingham to go from two vacations (Feb & April) to one, if the other communities don't, but many of the private schools opt for this schedule; so it can work.

... and as a parent of an elementary school student, I couldn't agree more on the too many early release Thursdays.

Well, I think it would have to include Patriots Day and President's Day, since those are state and town holidays and teachers are town workers. The Professional Days and Early release days get me.

Agreed on the too many early release days...when I was a kid, parent/teacher conferences were in the evenings or before school. Times have certainly changed in this regard!

Looking at 15 early release Thursdays for 2011-2012 .. 2 days for Rosh Hashanah .. Christian holidays are included in vacation weeks .. altogether a lot of lost class time .. and problematic finding child care for working parents of young kids ..

Is there evidence that cold and flu germs last more than 72 hours? President's Day and Patriot's Day would be 3-day weekends anyway .. I suspect that most parents would prefer only week of Spring vacation .. and I think close to 100% think there are too many early release days .. Seems like the teachers are making the schedule

I guess I am in the minority so far. I like having both vacations. I like having more time with my kids and like that they can get a break from the usual routine. It keeps things interestiong and fresh. For those of us with relatives out of state, it gives more opportunity to visit them. As a creature of habit, I guess I like having what I had as a child. I also like being in sync with other towns. Also it becomes very problematic when a teacher lives in one town and works in another if there are different vacations. The early release days are a different matter. The Superintendant is working to reduce them. They could cut back a few and offer the option of night conferrences sto accomodate wlring parents if the teachers are willing ( some do so on their own already).

Hi Pam, Thanks for the clarification on Good Friday. I just want the kids to be in school as much as possible. The more classroom time the better. I respect the teachers immensely. But don't we all have scheduling problems we need to work out?

Strange but true. "There are only 11 weeks during the 2011-12 school year, in which students would attend five full days." http://framingham.patch.com/articles/first-day-of-school-scheduled-for-aug-30 Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?

I'd think that religious holidays in public schools would be a violation of the separation of church and state. Won't we soon be considering Hindu and Moslem holidays? If someone requests those while we're already celebrating Christian and Jewsish holidays, how can we say "No"?

Here I am today at work, on Good Friday, as are many others. If I wanted to take today off I could use a personal day. My choice. Many communities have eliminated religious holidays from the school schedule, including Marlboro. Schools need to concentrate on education. Religious holidays, extra weeks vacation, and so many half school days can only detract from our kids' education.

This question has been batted around across many school districts for years. To clarify what private schools do, at least in CT, is to combine into one vacation (lasting two weeks, not one) in March. There are pros & cons to either option. The solution should be data driven, with parental opinion as part of the data. The broader data should include parents, teachers, and teachers unions before there is a decision made. And what neighboring communities do should also be factored in. Since I have an older child, speaking as a parent now, the February break came in handy as he got older and faced the state standardized tests that all children begin, I believe, in third grade. Those standardized tests are administrated in the month of March in CT, so the February break gave him the opportunity to not have homework and prepare for these tests that affect academic placement when your children go into Middle and High Schools. I wouldn't be opposed to combining the vacations into one, but in our state it could not be in late March, as the state testing is not completed. And having the students wait until that is over would be exhausting. So many factors to consider and whether you have one or two vacations, it really won't affect the number of school days that your children are in school each year. The number of school days in an academic year is set by the district in "collaboration" with the teacher's union. I could go about other factors but I have no space left. :-)