When does school start in my district? Schools on Long Island open as early as Aug. 28
Students arrive at Jericho High School for the first day of classes on Aug. 29, 2022. Jericho is usually the first school district on Long Island to open. This year it will open Aug. 28. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Long Island's 420,000 students will soon return to school for a new academic year — but, as in the past, they won't be back all at once. Some will start before this month ends; others will have an extra week of summer to enjoy.
The majority of the Island’s 123 districts, 69 in total, start Sept. 3, the Tuesday after Labor Day, according to a list Newsday compiled from district calendars. Thirty-seven more start Sept. 4, and 15 others on Sept. 5.
Only two districts begin in the last week of August.
Jericho, as usual, is the first to open, on Aug. 28. William Floyd, a district in Suffolk County with about 9,400 students, begins the next day, on Aug. 29, for its K-9 students.
William Floyd's higher grades return a day later so that high school freshmen — the ninth-graders — can have an introduction day before the rest of the high school students arrive, the district said.
Districts are required to offer at least 180 days of instruction in an academic year. Jericho has had 186 days for some years.
“Philosophically, I believe more is better,” Jericho schools Superintendent Hank Grishman said. “I think a longer school year is better for the kids.”
More days in schools not only means more instruction time but also more socialization for students, he said.
“It's part of the social skills of being in school, the after and co-curricular activities that we offer,” Grishman said. “I think all of those broaden a youngster's educational experience. I truly do believe that increase is helpful to the kids’ educational maturation and social maturation.”
Beyond meeting the 180-instruction-day minimum and factoring in snow days and holidays, districts also take attendance into account. William Floyd, for example, considered how holidays and breaks could affect attendance, a widespread problem many districts on the Island face since the pandemic.
William Floyd opted for an August start so that students can have a longer winter break with an eye toward better attendance once classes resume, district spokesman James Montalto said in an email.
“Rather than [having] students come back to school on Thursday, January 2, which will likely result in lighter attendance than usual, we opted to give students the two full weeks off,” Montalto wrote. “We value instructional days and want to ensure the largest amount of students are able to attend when school is in session.”
School calendars slightly differ by districts. In general, students get a winter recess from before Christmas through at least New Year's Day, and then a week off in February and another in April.
A new year means new programs and initiatives for many. In Brentwood, the largest school system on the Island with 18,000 students, Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera said she is excited about a new district initiative called “Graduation Plus+.”
The program will expand opportunities for students in middle school to earn high school credits, and those in high school for college credits. It opens more pathways for students to work in trades or give those focused on higher education a head start, officials said.
“Our students are going to graduate not just with a diploma,” she said. “We want them to have something else with that. We want to get them ready to enroll in postsecondary education programs, or to enter the workforce with the skills or certifications or licenses.”
The Brentwood system begins Sept. 4.
In the early months of a school year leading up to the presidential election in November, some school leaders noted the potential of political debates spilling over into classrooms. Grishman said he plans to brief staff on opening day about how to guide such conversations.
“Just heightening staff awareness that there is always the potential that in a heated presidential election, there will be discussions in school, and that we need to manage them objectively and civilly and support differences of opinions from our kids,” he said. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said teachers are well-equipped to handle such discussions.
“Educators have been getting very good at dealing with relevant issues that happen outside the classroom, whether they be on a world stage, a national stage, or even a local stage, and how to address them when questions or conversations come up in the classrooms,” he said.
Long Island's 420,000 students will soon return to school for a new academic year — but, as in the past, they won't be back all at once. Some will start before this month ends; others will have an extra week of summer to enjoy.
The majority of the Island’s 123 districts, 69 in total, start Sept. 3, the Tuesday after Labor Day, according to a list Newsday compiled from district calendars. Thirty-seven more start Sept. 4, and 15 others on Sept. 5.
Only two districts begin in the last week of August.
Jericho, as usual, is the first to open, on Aug. 28. William Floyd, a district in Suffolk County with about 9,400 students, begins the next day, on Aug. 29, for its K-9 students.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Long Island’s 420,000 students will soon return to school for a new academic year — some as early as Aug. 28, others not until Sept. 5.
- The majority of the Island’s 123 school districts, 69 in total, start on Sept. 3. Thirty-seven more start Sept. 4 and 15 others on Sept. 5.
- Two districts, Jericho and William Floyd, begin in the last week of August.
William Floyd's higher grades return a day later so that high school freshmen — the ninth-graders — can have an introduction day before the rest of the high school students arrive, the district said.
Districts are required to offer at least 180 days of instruction in an academic year. Jericho has had 186 days for some years.
“Philosophically, I believe more is better,” Jericho schools Superintendent Hank Grishman said. “I think a longer school year is better for the kids.”
More days in schools not only means more instruction time but also more socialization for students, he said.
“It's part of the social skills of being in school, the after and co-curricular activities that we offer,” Grishman said. “I think all of those broaden a youngster's educational experience. I truly do believe that increase is helpful to the kids’ educational maturation and social maturation.”
"I think a longer school year is better for the kids," Jericho Superintendent Hank Grishman said. Credit: Danielle Silverman
A focus on boosting attendance
Beyond meeting the 180-instruction-day minimum and factoring in snow days and holidays, districts also take attendance into account. William Floyd, for example, considered how holidays and breaks could affect attendance, a widespread problem many districts on the Island face since the pandemic.
William Floyd opted for an August start so that students can have a longer winter break with an eye toward better attendance once classes resume, district spokesman James Montalto said in an email.
“Rather than [having] students come back to school on Thursday, January 2, which will likely result in lighter attendance than usual, we opted to give students the two full weeks off,” Montalto wrote. “We value instructional days and want to ensure the largest amount of students are able to attend when school is in session.”
School calendars slightly differ by districts. In general, students get a winter recess from before Christmas through at least New Year's Day, and then a week off in February and another in April.
New programs, Election Day loom
A new year means new programs and initiatives for many. In Brentwood, the largest school system on the Island with 18,000 students, Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera said she is excited about a new district initiative called “Graduation Plus+.”
The program will expand opportunities for students in middle school to earn high school credits, and those in high school for college credits. It opens more pathways for students to work in trades or give those focused on higher education a head start, officials said.
Brentwood schools Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera. In her district, the largest on the Island, classes begin Sept. 4. Credit: Morgan Campbell
“Our students are going to graduate not just with a diploma,” she said. “We want them to have something else with that. We want to get them ready to enroll in postsecondary education programs, or to enter the workforce with the skills or certifications or licenses.”
The Brentwood system begins Sept. 4.
In the early months of a school year leading up to the presidential election in November, some school leaders noted the potential of political debates spilling over into classrooms. Grishman said he plans to brief staff on opening day about how to guide such conversations.
“Just heightening staff awareness that there is always the potential that in a heated presidential election, there will be discussions in school, and that we need to manage them objectively and civilly and support differences of opinions from our kids,” he said. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said teachers are well-equipped to handle such discussions.
“Educators have been getting very good at dealing with relevant issues that happen outside the classroom, whether they be on a world stage, a national stage, or even a local stage, and how to address them when questions or conversations come up in the classrooms,” he said.
