Full Week Off? Lyons Township High Rejects Idea

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School received a lot of feedback for next year's proposed calendar, an official said.

But the school board this week decided to keep it as is.

"Much of the input centered on the Thanksgiving holiday, with many requesting that it be extended to a full week," school official Patrice Payne said at a board meeting.

The approved calendar gives students off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week, as has been the case before.

Others wanted to start school earlier, perhaps on Aug. 13, as opposed to Aug. 17. The idea was to ease students' transition with a shorter first week, Payne said.

"Others felt that the proposed Aug. 17 start date was already too early and preferred a later start date," she said.

Payne said the school appreciated the thoughtfulness of the feedback.

"Balancing the range of perspectives is always complex, and in several cases, the feedback we received was sometimes directly contradictory to others," said Payne, director of curriculum and instruction. "After careful consideration, we have decided to bring forward the originally proposed calendar."

That's because the calendar maintains, as close as possible, an equal balance between the first and second semesters, she said. The first semester ends before the winter break.

Board members agreed with the goal.

"I do know last time that we had a discussion about Thanksgiving and how we want to keep the balance between the first and second semester," the board's president, Tim Albores, said.

The vote for the calendar was unanimous.