Seneca Valley School District has extended the start of the 2011-2012 school year to a later date; therefore, students will begin and end of school later than the traditional opening and closing dates. The first full day of school is scheduled for September 7, 2011. The last day of school is scheduled for June 15, 2012.
The purpose of this petition is to ask the SVSD Board to start school on or near August 29 and end the school year earlier in June.
The following are reasons to begin and end school at traditional dates: * Students are more likely to be motivated to learn in late August than they are in June when most others out of school. * Teachers and students who want to enroll in day summer school classes may not be able to because summer school at colleges and universities often begins before June 15.
* Teachers who have children in other school districts may have to find and pay for additional child care services because their schedule will be different than most other districts.
* Many families will not be able to take early June vacations when it's less expensive.
* High school students who are seeking summer employment are likely to be at a competitive disadvantage because they will not be able to start summer jobs as early as students from other districts. This is of extreme importance to many students and their families in this economy.
* Fall sporting events are likely to have lower attendance since students are not in school and they may not support the teams as well as if they were in school where school spirit is enhanced via pep rallies and classmates.
* Students playing sports who rely on bus transportation will need to be bussed two ways since they will not be in school before practice begins. This will add to transportation costs.
* Students may have a disadvantage in competing for college scholarships and other sources of financial aid since their grading period will lag behind that of other districts.
* Test scores such as the PSSA and SAT will suffer because they have one less week to learn before taking the exams. This could negatively impact the reputation of Seneca Valley School District and lessen the desire of families wanting to move into the district.
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