Why Does School Start So Early These Days?

There's something a little off this week. Temperatures are still in the mid-90s yet kids are going back to school! Some of you may be old enough to remember when school didn't start until after Labor Day. What changed?

History Of School-Year Start Time

During early US history, there was no standard school year. Urban schools often ran all year with a few small breaks while rural schools often ran through summer and winter but gave kids fall and spring off for the harvest and growing seasons.

By the mid-1800s, public education was growing popular and so was a push for universal standards for grading, age groups, and calendars. Over time, many schools settled into a fall-spring term with a break in the summer. The summer break came about due to intense heat in non-ventilated buildings as people moved in droves to the inner city, and the fact that it became more common in the mid-1800s for families to take vacations and summer was the preferred time for that.

By September, heat was winding down and families were returning from vacations. By the beginning of the 20th century, the first Monday of September had already the federal holiday Labor Day, so schools naturally started on the Tuesday following. By 1900, this trend began to solidify.

empty building hallway — Photo by kyo azuma on Unsplash

Why The Move Towards August?

As standardized testing became popular, schools pushed for school years to start earlier to add more instruction days before test dates. Also, schools began desiring to finish semester finals before Christmas instead of after, pushing the start date back. With the advent of widespread air conditioning, school in August became tolerable.

Yakima, what are your thoughts?