Frequently Asked Questions   What is a traditional school calendar? In our opinion, a traditional school calendar is a calendar in which academic instruction begins in late-August or early-September and ends in late-May or the beginning of June Why should we start schools later? Later school starts help everyone and hurt no one. August is the hottest month of the year, causing children to sit in steamy hot classrooms and get overheated during P.E. while students in other states are outside, enjoying their summers. August is a popular month for family vacations but since many of our schools go back so early, some families are not able to schedule a summer vacation --- they may vacation earlier in the summer but many simply do not vacation at all or, in some cases, they stay for a shorter amount of time. Some children work during the summer and starting school in early August limits their earnings, money that is often used to pay for college. And, finally, our teachers in Florida work hard and they deserve a full summer vacation. When you were in school you probably started after Labor Day. What changed? Many of us feel the same way. We started school after Labor Day and ended the school year before or right after Memorial Day. This schedule worked well for us and could work just as well for our children. It is the quality of time spent in the classroom, not the quantity. By law, all students would still attend 180 days of school. Who opposes the later school start date? Most parents and teachers we speak with prefer a later school start. However, some school administrators prefer the earlier school start date. They prefer to start school earlier and earlier each year, in the unproven hope that it will increase FCAT scores since that is how their job performance is judged. None of us send our children to school to study the FCAT Test. We send them to learn reading, writing, language arts, math, history, and geography. Why does Save our Summers care about saving the summer? Research in other states has shown us that the calendar configuration does not impact academic success, but can increase non-instructional costs. This means less of our taxpayer dollars goes into classroom instruction and teacher salaries. We care about keeping our kids out of school in the summer because summer not only is the hottest time to cool or schools, but we understand it is much easier for families to find quality child care during summer months. It is also beneficial for teachers to have a full summer vacation. Allowing them to pursue advanced degrees (without taking time away from their classrooms and shorting their family time), work a summer job to supplement their income (often allowing teachers to remain in the field), or simply enjoy some much needed time off.  Doesn't the earlier school start date mean our children are receiving more days of instruction?  Regardless of the school calendar, our children receive the same number of instructional days – as mandated by our legislature. The only difference is many districts have created a bloated school calendar by adding many one and two day holidays into the school year. This adds more days from the first day of school to the last, but doesn’t add one moment of instructional time to the mix Wouldn't a later school start date require administering end-of-semester exams after the winter break? Yes. Late-August school start dates often necessitate ending the first semester after the winter break. There is no academic detriment that has been shown for schools ending the first semester after the winter break. Actually, the majority of the top 10 academic states in the nation, according to four different ranking systems, began the school year in late-August or early-September and administered end-of-semester exams after the winter break. The "Spacing Effect," which is referred to in several studies in psychology literature and journals supports the idea that exams after the winter break could be more beneficial to our students long-term retention of the material presented. The Spacing Effect holds that "Review of material increases long-term memory best when there is more time between introduction and review of material." In other words, if students learn something, and then review what they have learned again at a later date, they are more likely to remember the lesson. So if exams are administered after a break rather than before, students should benefit academically given that there was a review before the exams. Shouldn't the school calendar be a matter of local control? The state would only be setting a beginning date for schools. All other calendar decisions will be left to the school board and community to decide. Local control should factor in the desire of most Florida parents. I want a later school start date for my children and have heard from other parents who support this as well. What can we do to help make this happen? 1. Sign up on the electronic petition located on this site. We will keep you updated on our progress. 2. Contact your local legislator through this website and let them know you support a later school start date. 3. Tell other parents about this site. 4. Contact your local school board member and tell them how you feel. When school boards begin hearing from you and other parents, they will want to solve this problem.