Echoing everyone else here.
Neutral just because this decision is already insanely late. Calendars should be working on a three year trailing schedule. There is absolutely no reason you can't be doing this years in advance.
That said, move the start date later to align with other local districts.
Looong gone are the days of school starting after Labor Day. Or even in late August. But why, and why earlier and earlier each year? Neighboring districts achieve their academic goals with later starts than OUSD's. I echo so many already posted sentiments about the OUSD school years ending and starting far too early (hardship for working families who need childcare, alignment with other schools/unis, respect for teachers and faculty not having to to start PDs in July!, etc), *and* with the annual and late approval of the next year's calendar. Clarify what needs to happen to get the academic calendar drafted and approved earlier in advance, and let's make it so!
I need more time to plan childcare for the summer. Ending school before Memorial Day usually means there are few to no summer camps the first and sometime second week of summer.
I agree with everything Brandon Wall said! Camps are already open for registration and we don't know when the summer ends! Please do this further in advance. And yes I'd also like a little later start date, it just doesn't match with anything else.
The last two school years started on Aug 7 and Aug 8, so I was not surprised that the proposal is to start Aug 6 for 2023-24. More important to me than when we start is that we figure out how to finalize the school calendar much further in advance!
Last year's planning process was a travesty—it wasn't finalized until April—by far the latest in my seven years as an OUSD parent. Why was it so delayed?
Teachers, staff, families, and students ALL benefit from finalizing the school calendar farther ahead of time. Pre-pandemic, some neighboring districts approved their calendars two or even three years in advance. These days, that practice is less common, but many districts still do better than we do. As of Sept 2023, Alameda had already finalized 24-25 and 25-26 and San Leandro had finalized 24-25.
What are the barriers to this getting sorted out sooner for 2025-26 and 2026-27? How do we overcome them?
I agree with all the other oppose comments I've read. I would also like to add two additional points.
1. Weather - the weather isn't "summery" yet when OUSD summer break starts and then it gets to its hottest part of the year right when kids are supposed to sit inside in non-climate controlled rooms.
2. Birthday cut offs. If cut offs are September 1, wouldn't it make sense for the start date of school to be closer to that date? So kids don't have to start kindergarden before turning 5?
It is UNACCEPTABLE that the start date of school is out of alignment with other local school systems as well as the local universities, such as UC Berkeley. This puts families in a position when we cannot plan in advance. As a family with a rising TK-er, who is trying to decide between Preschool and OUSD, this factors very heavily into my decision as well as the logistics for working families.
I oppose an earlier start date and recommend a start date of August 16th in alignment with the University of California, BUSD and others. Anything short of that is a disservice to working families.
This start date keeps getting earlier and earlier and further out of alignment with other district and university schedules. Please move the date FORWARD, not backwards!
It is clear by the comments on this agenda that there is little support for the school calendar and it is dissapointing that the school board would not consider the wants and needs of it's families. Not only do we want our children to have a summer which in the bay area is august not June but in the least we should align the calendar with neighboring districts. it makes childcare/camp for working parents very challenging. If only starting school a week later at minimum. Please listen to your families!
I'm selecting Neutral simply because I want this decision to be made ASAP, but I am a parent of an OUSD elementary school student who also wants to express my support for releasing the annual school year calendar significantly earlier so we can plan for camps, travel, and family time with more ease. The Bay Area camp scene is incredibly competitive--that's a systemic problem that obviously cannot be addressed by the board--but is critical to many of us for summer and spring/winter break care, and not having dates earlier forces us to spend money on camp registrations without knowing for sure what the summer schedules are. Plus, the camps themselves probably are challenged by not knowing the dates--perhaps they would align better with OUSD if they actually had information in a timely manner. There are many frustrating things about OUSD, and this is not the top of the list, but it's up there. Please consider the families who are trying, valiantly, to stay in the District.
Please consider starting the second week of August, as all the surrounding districts do. Or at least explain why OUSD needs to start and end its school year so early. As almost all of the comments on this page attest, the early start and end to the school year makes parents lives harder as we scramble for camps and childcare (or have to cut summer plans short).
You are stealing summer from our kids. Accommodating the students who want to take classes at the community college level feels extremely unfair to the rest of the students.
Comments on here begging you to start the 2nd week of August when Labor Day is the end of summer!
Whatever it is you do, don't do it at the end of January. Registration for summer camps has already opened and many of them are full and parents STILL don't know for sure when their kids will or won't be in school.
I seem to have the same comment as almost all other people here, so I am reiterating what another commenter said: the proposed calendar starts and ends too early in comparison with summer supports for families. I would also implore the board to set the academic calendar in line with other neighboring school districts and to publish calendars at least 9 months in advance of school start, ideally 1+ year ahead at all times so that families can set up the childcare support they need.
When my eldest child started school in 2009, the first day of school was Monday, August 31st. NOW, the first day of school is August 6th? How long are you going to continue rolling back the school calendar?
I have written to the Superintendent and ALL school board members annually for years with only a single response. School should NOT start over 3 weeks earlier than it did 14 years ago. Even if you had rolled back school by a single day for 14 years, school would now start on August 17th. You are robbing children and their families of summer.
Since the SAT and ACT are no longer required for many colleges, it's ridiculous to change the school year. Before then, we all had to adjust our schedules for only two grades - 11th and 12th graders. It's time to get our summer back.
Ideally, school would start after Labor Day and end in June. Let us move to mid August at the EARLIEST.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
I feel that asking our families to continue to start school earlier and earlier every year is ridiculous and makes no sense. We have consistently started school at least a week earlier than most schools in the country. Starting school when it is still very much summer limits activities. Me and my family would much rather end school a week or two later and have more of a summer, then continually have to start school earlier and earlier every year. It makes zero sense.
I am neutral to the adoption of the calendar for 24/25 because I do not want to delay adoption to a later date. However, I implore the board to plan calendars farther in advance and more in line with other school districts. The district I teach in releases calendars more than 1+ years in advance to allow for employees and families to better plan for vacations/camps/conferences/etc. I also understand the goal of trying to have students out before Memorial Day, but not if that has students out so early in May.
Starting the school year in the beginning of August. We need to go back to starting in Mid August.
As most comments state can we please get back to a "mid" August start of school year e.g. Aug-12, 2024.
- Would like to have an extra week in August. Start date August 13 instead of August 6.
- February break (like 2023/2024 calendar)
Echoing everyone else here.
Neutral just because this decision is already insanely late. Calendars should be working on a three year trailing schedule. There is absolutely no reason you can't be doing this years in advance.
That said, move the start date later to align with other local districts.
Looong gone are the days of school starting after Labor Day. Or even in late August. But why, and why earlier and earlier each year? Neighboring districts achieve their academic goals with later starts than OUSD's. I echo so many already posted sentiments about the OUSD school years ending and starting far too early (hardship for working families who need childcare, alignment with other schools/unis, respect for teachers and faculty not having to to start PDs in July!, etc), *and* with the annual and late approval of the next year's calendar. Clarify what needs to happen to get the academic calendar drafted and approved earlier in advance, and let's make it so!
I need more time to plan childcare for the summer. Ending school before Memorial Day usually means there are few to no summer camps the first and sometime second week of summer.
I agree with everything Brandon Wall said! Camps are already open for registration and we don't know when the summer ends! Please do this further in advance. And yes I'd also like a little later start date, it just doesn't match with anything else.
The last two school years started on Aug 7 and Aug 8, so I was not surprised that the proposal is to start Aug 6 for 2023-24. More important to me than when we start is that we figure out how to finalize the school calendar much further in advance!
Last year's planning process was a travesty—it wasn't finalized until April—by far the latest in my seven years as an OUSD parent. Why was it so delayed?
Teachers, staff, families, and students ALL benefit from finalizing the school calendar farther ahead of time. Pre-pandemic, some neighboring districts approved their calendars two or even three years in advance. These days, that practice is less common, but many districts still do better than we do. As of Sept 2023, Alameda had already finalized 24-25 and 25-26 and San Leandro had finalized 24-25.
What are the barriers to this getting sorted out sooner for 2025-26 and 2026-27? How do we overcome them?
Starting school on 8/6 is too early. Families and kids need their summer. Please consider moving the start date to at least mid-August.
I agree with all the other oppose comments I've read. I would also like to add two additional points.
1. Weather - the weather isn't "summery" yet when OUSD summer break starts and then it gets to its hottest part of the year right when kids are supposed to sit inside in non-climate controlled rooms.
2. Birthday cut offs. If cut offs are September 1, wouldn't it make sense for the start date of school to be closer to that date? So kids don't have to start kindergarden before turning 5?
It is UNACCEPTABLE that the start date of school is out of alignment with other local school systems as well as the local universities, such as UC Berkeley. This puts families in a position when we cannot plan in advance. As a family with a rising TK-er, who is trying to decide between Preschool and OUSD, this factors very heavily into my decision as well as the logistics for working families.
I oppose an earlier start date and recommend a start date of August 16th in alignment with the University of California, BUSD and others. Anything short of that is a disservice to working families.
This start date keeps getting earlier and earlier and further out of alignment with other district and university schedules. Please move the date FORWARD, not backwards!
It is clear by the comments on this agenda that there is little support for the school calendar and it is dissapointing that the school board would not consider the wants and needs of it's families. Not only do we want our children to have a summer which in the bay area is august not June but in the least we should align the calendar with neighboring districts. it makes childcare/camp for working parents very challenging. If only starting school a week later at minimum. Please listen to your families!
I'm selecting Neutral simply because I want this decision to be made ASAP, but I am a parent of an OUSD elementary school student who also wants to express my support for releasing the annual school year calendar significantly earlier so we can plan for camps, travel, and family time with more ease. The Bay Area camp scene is incredibly competitive--that's a systemic problem that obviously cannot be addressed by the board--but is critical to many of us for summer and spring/winter break care, and not having dates earlier forces us to spend money on camp registrations without knowing for sure what the summer schedules are. Plus, the camps themselves probably are challenged by not knowing the dates--perhaps they would align better with OUSD if they actually had information in a timely manner. There are many frustrating things about OUSD, and this is not the top of the list, but it's up there. Please consider the families who are trying, valiantly, to stay in the District.
Please consider starting the second week of August, as all the surrounding districts do. Or at least explain why OUSD needs to start and end its school year so early. As almost all of the comments on this page attest, the early start and end to the school year makes parents lives harder as we scramble for camps and childcare (or have to cut summer plans short).
You are stealing summer from our kids. Accommodating the students who want to take classes at the community college level feels extremely unfair to the rest of the students.
Comments on here begging you to start the 2nd week of August when Labor Day is the end of summer!
Whatever it is you do, don't do it at the end of January. Registration for summer camps has already opened and many of them are full and parents STILL don't know for sure when their kids will or won't be in school.
I seem to have the same comment as almost all other people here, so I am reiterating what another commenter said: the proposed calendar starts and ends too early in comparison with summer supports for families. I would also implore the board to set the academic calendar in line with other neighboring school districts and to publish calendars at least 9 months in advance of school start, ideally 1+ year ahead at all times so that families can set up the childcare support they need.
When my eldest child started school in 2009, the first day of school was Monday, August 31st. NOW, the first day of school is August 6th? How long are you going to continue rolling back the school calendar?
I have written to the Superintendent and ALL school board members annually for years with only a single response. School should NOT start over 3 weeks earlier than it did 14 years ago. Even if you had rolled back school by a single day for 14 years, school would now start on August 17th. You are robbing children and their families of summer.
Since the SAT and ACT are no longer required for many colleges, it's ridiculous to change the school year. Before then, we all had to adjust our schedules for only two grades - 11th and 12th graders. It's time to get our summer back.
Ideally, school would start after Labor Day and end in June. Let us move to mid August at the EARLIEST.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
I feel that asking our families to continue to start school earlier and earlier every year is ridiculous and makes no sense. We have consistently started school at least a week earlier than most schools in the country. Starting school when it is still very much summer limits activities. Me and my family would much rather end school a week or two later and have more of a summer, then continually have to start school earlier and earlier every year. It makes zero sense.
I am neutral to the adoption of the calendar for 24/25 because I do not want to delay adoption to a later date. However, I implore the board to plan calendars farther in advance and more in line with other school districts. The district I teach in releases calendars more than 1+ years in advance to allow for employees and families to better plan for vacations/camps/conferences/etc. I also understand the goal of trying to have students out before Memorial Day, but not if that has students out so early in May.