Sophie Reardon

Salem Considering Adjusting School Vacation Schedule

Salem is not just looking at vacations, but the entire education calendar to see what makes sense, including if classes should start before Labor Day.

The city of Salem, Massachusetts, is asking parents about potential changes to the school vacation schedule.

The conditions at Mack Park in Salem are nearly perfect for February break, and many say it’s at least one good reason for leaving the school vacation week alone.

“You have weather like this, kids can enjoy sledding. You might not get that opportunity in March,” Jeffrey Simard said.

Suggestions from the city include eliminating both breaks in February and April in favor of an extended week in March to getting rid of either the week in February or in April and establishing a two-week vacation around the holidays in December.

Tanya O’Malley, a teacher, says changing the timing of vacations would be tough for educators living in other communities.

“My son goes to a different school so he has two weeks off in March. And so that has been interesting kind of juggling my scheduled vacation with his scheduled vacation,” she said.

Snow days haven’t been a problem for schools this year. But a big part of the move in Salem to look at altering the vacation schedule stems from the large number of school days lost to snow in previous years.

“We’re lucky. We have some family in the area, too. So they help out with childcare and that stuff,” said Jon Frisch.

Salem is not just looking at vacations, but the entire education calendar to see what makes sense, including if classes should start before Labor Day.

The School Department is collecting feedback about potential changes to the vacation schedules through the end of the month.

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