Local residents may notice fewer school buses on the roads and more students out and about tomorrow.
That’s because some area school boards are beginning their March Break one day earlier this year — on Friday March 8 instead of Monday March 11.
Why the early start? Like a good student, SooToday crunched the numbers and figured out the answer.
All four area school boards are bound by a provincial mandate to meet a minimum 194-day schedule between September and June. That includes 177 instructional days, 10 exam days for high school students, and seven professional activity (P.A.) days.
However, not every board has to follow the exact same schedule. There is some wiggle room when it comes to filling in the calendar, as long as it runs from the start of September to the end of June.
This particular school year presented a wrinkle: the first day of September fell on the Friday right before Labour Day weekend. Because it would have been impractical to make that the first day of school (directly followed by a three-day weekend) boards had to decide how to classify Sept. 1.
Should it be a board holiday or one of the seven designated P.A. days?
After consulting with parents and staff, three local boards — the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board, and both French boards (Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvelon and Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord) — chose to use Sept. 1 as P.A. day. Teachers reported to work but students stayed home.
The Algoma District School Board (ADSB), meanwhile, designated Sept. 1 as a board holiday for everyone, staff and students alike.
Simply put, that meant the public board still had seven P.A. days to pin on its calendar, while the other three boards only had six — plus the board holiday they didn't burn on Sept. 1.
In the end, all three boards chose to take that holiday on March 8 — tomorrow — setting up an extra-long March Break that officially begins at the final bell this afternoon.
For the ADSB, the March Break remains the traditional Monday to Friday.
For the record, classes resume on the same day for everyone: Monday March 18.