Lynnfield school board approves calendar year changes

LYNNFIELD – School Committee members voted Tuesday night to accept the calendar year changes suggested to them by Superintendent Bob Hassett. For students, that means the entire month of August will be school-free.Concern over the upcoming school calendar arose after parents, teachers and administrators realized that students had only completed three full 5-day weeks of school within the first 10 weeks this year. Hassett said the inconsistency made it difficult for students to get accustomed to the school routine.The new calendar requires teachers to start on Aug. 31 and use that day, as well as Sept. 1 for professional development. Students would report on Sept. 2, 3, and 4, take Labor Day off, then report back on Tuesday, Sept. 8. School vacations and other holidays would remain consistent with years past.Another interesting turn of events is the removal of Nov. 3 as a professional development day. The date was originally reserved for in-school voting, but as there won’t be an election until the annual town’s election in April, that day has been bumped up to Nov. 2, making room for another long weekend. There will, however, be a professional development day on April 12, 2010 for voting inside the schools. The last day of school would fall on June 25, with five built-in snow days, or June 18 without.Hassett said those few changes alone will double the number of full 5-day weeks within the first 10 weeks of the year.