BOE Considering Move to Shorten Ridgewood School Year

The Ridgewood Board of Education began a parent survey Tuesday on possible changes to the 2014-15 calendar that would allow the summer release of students a week earlier than the current schedule.

An earlier release would require tweaks to the February and April breaks, according to district officials.

Discussion of the change, Superintendent Dan Fishbein said at a school board meeting Monday night, was prompted by the need for about a hundred special accommodations during finals at the high school, and more at other village schools, for students with various other obligations in late June, such as summer camps, work or college orientations.

Ending earlier, he said, would increase family time, prevent students from being in the buildings during hot weather and allow facilities projects to begin sooner.

The school day had extended later into June over recent years, Fishbein added, due to state testing requirements and professional development days.

To push up the end of classes, Fishbein said in a statement, “we must decrease time off during the year. To help with our decision-making process, and because we value the input of our parents and guardians, we are asking them to complete a very brief two-question survey.”

The survey, which is distributed to email addresses on file with the district, invites parents to weigh in on two options for an earlier release: shortening the February recess to a long weekend, while maintaining the April break, or eliminating both and adding a week-long March recess.

The questionnaire also allows parents to opt for no changes to the schedule.

Parents have until Nov. 15 to respond to the survey.