School Starting Back Earlier For Many Suburban Students
(CBS) -- August is the new September for back to school. Hundreds of students across the suburbs return to class Tuesday.
If it feels like your kids are going back earlier than ever before, you're right. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker takes a look at why the start of school is creeping up the summer calendar.
Classroom assignments, locker checks and final schedules are all signals summer has come to an end. Most are excited, but some students in Schiller Park remember that last year's start date was August 13, so this year, they've got one less day of summer.
"It's still kind of warm now so we still should have a little bit more time so we could play outside," said Brian Wasilewski. "We should start the 22nd or something."
Kimberly Borgszewski is the Superintendent of District 81, overseeing Schiller Park, and parts of Franklin Park. She says the biggest academic advantage of an early school year is that finals and standardized tests are taken before Christmas break, before students forget the lessons.
"Sometimes we see with breaks there might be regression," Borgszewski said.
All the schools in the district start early, which parents say is a boost to family planning.
"You have family members or friends that baby sit when we work all day," said parent Sally Irgatua. "Now they start school the same time, they leave school the same time, the hours are similar, so we don't have to worry about little kids when they go home."
It's a full day of classes Tuesday for students in Schiller Park. They're back three weeks before students in Chicago Public Schools. Classes in the city start September 2.