Joining a number of other local districts that have moved up their start dates, Los Alamitos Unified will welcome back students from their summer vacations on Aug. 8 this year, the Orange County Register reports.
The altered schedule provides an extra week off in February around Presidents’ Day, and schools will be shuttered the entire week of Thanksgiving.
May 30, rather than mid-June, will mark the end of the academic year.
Los Al Superintendent Sherry Kropp told the Register that the earlier start will give students more time to prepare for AP tests, and it will align the end of the first semester with the start of winter recess.
“AP tests are given in May at the same time across the nation,” Kropp said. “If kids have another six weeks to learn the material, that raises pass rates.”
You might have noticed that back-to-school season has hit us sooner in recent years, with a number of OC districts making an academic case for beginning earlier in August and wrapping up before June.
In 2017, the Anaheim Union High, Centralia, Cypress and Savanna school districts opened their doors on Aug. 9; the Santa Ana Unified, Anaheim Elementary, Buena Park, Fullerton and Fullerton Joint Union school districts followed on Aug. 14.
And here are some other education stories that caught our attention this week:
- The Assistance League of Saddleback Valley recently dished out grants totalling nearly $25,000 to help Saddleback Valley Unified School District teachers enhance classroom instruction with materials including CSI kits and magnetic levitation tracks.
- In the latest episode of The Deeper Learning Podcast, County Superintendent Dr. Al Mijares takes listeners on a quest to learn more about kindness and compassion, reaching out to a number of prominent figures including neurosurgeon and author Dr. James Doty, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.
- The Anaheim Elementary school board appointed a retired superintendent to temporarily take over for former chief Linda Kimble, who recently relocated to San Diego County.
- Amid a growing demand for bilingual educators, California is using bonuses, trainings and other incentives to staff classrooms with large numbers of English learners.
- A report by the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Inspector General is calling into question the accuracy of California’s record-high graduation rate, but state officials are standing by their calculations.
- With the season of academic competition upon us, the OCDE Newsroom has put together a list of important dates to mark on your calendar.
- Nine schools in Anaheim will reap energy savings while adding shade and hands-on science lessons thanks to a new solar power partnership.
- Eighty-six Orange County students have earned Disneyland Resort’s Dreamers & Doers awards for their efforts to strengthen their communities, think creatively, conserve nature and live healthier.
- The Capistrano Unified School District has reached a new three-year agreement with its teachers union, ending a lengthy impasse.
As always, you can keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking newsroom.ocde.us. You can also find us on social media and subscribe for email updates.