The Merced City School District passed its 2009-10 academic calendar Tuesday night. After long debates and delayed votes all year, the calendar was passed with little fanfare after hours of budget talk.
The new calendar matches the Merced Union High School District perfectly except for two occasions: winter vacation and president’s week.
Winter break for MCSD will run Dec. 21 – Jan. 1.
Winter break for MUHSD will run Dec. 24 – Jan. 8.
The Merced City School District opted to start winter break earlier because they felt holding classes on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas would result in significant absences.
MCSD decided to end winter break earlier for pedagogical reasons – three weeks is too long to keep young learners out of the classroom, they said. (From the superintendent’s recommendation: “High school students begin their second semester classes when they come off the winter break, Three weeks won’t effect them. Elementary students just go on to the next lesson.”)
The schools also don’t align around the President’s Day holiday.
MCSD will celebrate President’s Week Feb. 15-19.
MUHSD with have just a long weekend with students taking off Feb. 12 and Feb. 15.
The school districts are the two largest in Merced County. Both school years will run from Aug. 17, 2009 to June 4, 2010.
The calendars were the result of a multiple-district mission to make vacation days easier for children of different ages and in different school systems.
