Different school districts throughout the state never seem to be on the same page when it comes to scheduling breaks and days off, even neighboring ones.  Some districts are off the day before Thanksgiving, others have no school on Election Day, and the start dates of the holiday break in December often differ.  This can be frustrating and inconvenient to parents, students, and school staff members for a number of reasons.

This issue really affects teachers or other faculty members who work in different districts than where their kids go to school.  When they have work, but their kids, especially younger ones, are off from school, it can be extremely difficult to figure out what to do.  Finding childcare—which is expensive in many cases—may not be possible for many parents.

This places unnecessary stress on hardworking parents, and in some cases, their only option is to take an unplanned absence from work.  Working parents may struggle even more when their children have an unexpected snow day, yet the parents still have school in the district in which they work.  This can be extremely frustrating for working parents; they are put in a highly inconvenient situation that is completely out of their control.

Planning family events, gatherings, or vacations are also made difficult for families who have relatives in different school districts.  Parents and students often have such busy schedules that breaks or long weekends are their only chances to spend real quality time with their extended family who they don’t see as often.  However, when these days off from school don’t line up between families who don’t live in the same district, it further limits that availability.  

Sometimes, these trips or events aren’t possible at all due to this lack of coordination.  In many cases, parents let their kids miss school for a couple days in order to extend their vacation time.  It makes no sense for each school to plan their breaks and days off differently if students don’t even follow those schedules.

Though it may not be convenient, the community of each school district has different specific needs.  For example, on Election Day, some schools are used as voting sites, so the district needs to have a day off even if other districts have school.  Just like towns have control over the management of their streets or fire departments, each school district has its own individual control over how it makes its schedule.  Whether or not it works perfectly, we believe there should be some changes made to the schedule in order to make calendars easier for families across Long Island.