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Schools

Mansfield Contemplates Saturday Classes

Snow days putting schools in tight spot.

Parents worried about having to cancel their April vacation plans need not fret, as the Mansfield School Committee decided Tuesday, Feb. 15 to leave the week of no-school days intact. 

Speculation existed that the current five snow days would erase April break rather than add them to the end of the year in late June.  Instead the committee decided to hold classes on one Saturday in March and one in April, with the final three days added to the end of June.  Specific dates will be decided by and announced on March 8th.

By law Massachusetts’s public schools are required to hold 180 days of school and 900 hours of learning (with early release days counting as a full day) a year.  The contract with the teachers union states that Mansfield Public Schools will not hold classes after June 30th.  If the School Committee decided to add all five missed days to the end of the academic year as it stands now, school would cease on June 29th.

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That left little wiggle room should we experience any more occurrences of heavy snow.  There are also concerns voiced by school staff that has their own classes starting up at the end of June. 

The committee discussed four options: leaving the academic year as it is and adding the days at the end of June, canceling part or all of April vacation, holding school on anywhere from one to three Saturdays, and holding school on days typically canceled such as Good Friday.

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“No matter what we do, we’re cutting into someone’s plans,” said .  The discussion focused on which day of the week schools would see the greatest number of attendees doing the most learning.  The committee was also concerned about giving students the most opportunities to learn before the MCAS tests, something that holding school in June does little to help.

“It’s difficult for any student to miss a full week of school, particularly our high school juniors and seniors who are likely using April vacation to look at colleges,” said Committee Vice Chairman Frank Del Vecchio. The committee voiced concerns for the school staff as well, many of who may have made their own plans during April vacation.

Though the State frowns upon holding school on Saturday, the committee decided that making up two of the missed days on Saturdays was the best course of action.  Students who are not able to attend on Saturdays, such as Jewish students who make up approximately one-thirteenth of the Mansfield population, will face no penalty other than the typical make-up work. 

athletics on those particular Saturdays will be rescheduled.

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