Behind the Headlines

Should school within an intermediate school district be united under a common calendar?

The Michigan State Senate passed legislation last week saying they should and I agree.

After speaking with Monroe County Intermediate School District Superintendent Don Spencer, it would be much easier for schools to share programs such as foreign languages using the common calendar.

However, under this legislation, schools who are on trimesters would be exempt from the common calendar- which means half of the districts in Monroe County, beginning next year, would be exempt.

What do you think? Is this a good idea?

Another point Mr. Spencer addressed was the length of the school year. Should Michigan schools change back to the 180 day minimum?

Mr. Spencer told me students in other parts of the world go to school for much longer than 180 days. For example, Japanese students go to school for more than 230 days.

Do you like the current system of 1,098 minimum instruction hours or should their be a set number of days like it used to be?