Strafford Schools May be Second in the State of Missouri to End Summer Vacation

Strafford Schools may be the second in Missouri to end summer vacation. The school is looking at extending winter break and fall break and offer a very short version of summer vacation rather than the traditional three month summer vacation. This is a plan the Obama administration wants to see implemented across the United States.

The board of education says it has worked two years to come up with the non-traditional school year schedule. "We would offer a two week fall break, a three week Christmas break, and a two week spring break," explains Strafford High School Principal Brett Soden. Summer would last about four weeks over the traditional 12 weeks. Students would be out of school in June and probably come back shortly after Independence Day.

I personally have mixed emotions about this. While I don't see as many kids outside playing these days making the most of their summer vacations like we used to do, perhaps its not all that bad. I mean vegging out in front of video games all summer limits the education that summer once offered, but on the other hand the three month vacation is something students look forward to and offer families a greater time span to plan vacations.

From an economic standpoint for placed like Orlando, Branson, and other vacation destinations, the real danger is limiting the summer season to a few short weeks that families can enjoy the areas. What effect will it have on these local economies? As well, if summer is narrowed down to just a couple weeks every summer, that means summer will be spent standing in line ready to get on the Hotel of Terror as families have a smaller window to enjoy vacation. Anyone who has been to Disney World during spring break understands the frustration of standing in lines and barely having room to walk. It's hard to enjoy a family vacation under these conditions.

Overall, I think it's a bad idea. The school board will vote on the proposal according to KSPR. Then again, are students really optimizing their time off in the summer?

Fair Grove schools are also considering a similar format.