Press Release

August 20 Start Date For 2001-2002 School Year

The 2001-2002 school year will start August 20 following a Board of Education vote Thursday that is designed to put students on the same CSAP starting line as neighboring districts.

The Colorado Student Assessment Program is currently being administered in mid-February and Board members agreed that students need every advantage - including the extra two weeks in class prior to taking the test.

The 5-2 vote came after Board members reviewed hundreds of comments about the proposal that were submitted via telephone, mail, and e-mail.

The comments were evenly divided on whether to keep the post-Labor Day start that's been in effect since the 1997-1998 school year.

Throughout the 1980s and mid-1990s school generally started during the last full week of August.

Under the calendar adopted by the Board of Education for the 2001-2002 school year, the first day of school will be Monday, August 20 and the last day of the school year will be Friday, May 24 (the Friday before Memorial Day).

Holidays will be Labor Day (Sept. 3), Veterans Day (Nov. 12), Thanksgiving (Nov. 22-23), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 21), and Presidents Day (Feb. 18). The winter break will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 1. The spring break will run from March 25 to March 29.

The new calendar means a one-time, summer break that will be two weeks shorter for DPS students because the current school year calendar ends on June 12.

"Obviously this is an issue of great importance to the entire Denver community," said Board member James Mejia. "I'm very sympathetic to schools being hot - this is a grave concern to us as a Board. It has been shown that it is hotter in August than it is in June . . . however, there are many great advantages to starting earlier."

Among the additional advantages listed by Mejia and others who voted in favor of the August start are aligning calendars with neighboring districts; giving high school students an equal chance at summer jobs; improving synchronization with summer college courses; and improving the district's chance to recruit the best teachers.

But, said Mejia, "it boils down to academic achievement."

Board members Bennie Milliner and Sharon Macdonald voted against the switch. "I'm sympathetic and actually agree with many of the reasons set forth," said Milliner, "I just don't believe it will be time well-spent, starting our students in the middle of August."

"Heat is a very legitimate concern," said Board president Elaine Gantz Berman. But Berman said the district is close to an agreement with the Denver Fire Department that will allow classroom doors to be open to allow for better ventilation. In addition, the dress code may be relaxed to allow students and teachers to wear comfortable clothes.

Berman thanked all parents, teachers, and students who took the time to weigh in on the proposal. "We are grateful to all the people who took the time to get back to us," she said.