It may feel like school just let out for summer break, but in three weeks, several East Valley school districts will be welcoming students back into buildings.
Every year, ABC15 receives questions and comments from families, wondering why school starts in July and August when it’s scorching hot in Arizona. ABC15 went to the education experts to see how a school calendar is determined.
Chandler Unified and Apache Junction Unified are the two school districts that start the earliest, from what ABC15 gathered, compared to the rest of the Valley, on July 16. More East Valley school districts start that week, with more to follow in the weeks after.
Arizona’s largest school district, Mesa Public Schools, has its first day on July 31 alongside a few other unified school districts. Additional districts start the first week of August.
“July 31, already? It hasn’t even reached August and they have to go back to school,” one mom told ABC15.
“It’s crazy because it’s too hot,” said Susan, a mom of two Chandler students.
Chandler Unified Superintendent Frank Narducci said his district is on what’s called a modified year-round schedule for 30 years now, meaning the district gets two-week breaks in the fall, winter and spring.
“Usually with year-round, you have three-week intercessions,” he said. “But because our community valued a little longer summer, we went with the modified year-round.”
Narducci said the district, among a few others, has committees that help determine school calendars. In Chandler, they’re done in five-year cycles, so the calendar this year has been set in stone for quite some time.
Depending on the district, decisions are made based on goals they may want, which, in Chandler and other education experts' added, districts want to be done by Memorial Day.
“Our calendar committee valued Memorial Day as the end of the school year for this set of calendars, so it was worked back from that,” Narducci said. “They used that as a nonnegotiable and that’s the date.”
Districts are required to have 180 learning days, or equivalent in hours, as some districts are on four-day schedules.
“The committee takes the 180 days and they divide them up from semesters. The one condition they have is there is equality between the learning segments, so they have ample time to be taught during that time,” Narducci continued. “That’s up to the committee to divide that up and they have to look at where holidays fall.”
While school starts soon for students, the worry with the heat is there, and Narducci said he knows it’s hot in Arizona.
“We do realize that. And so, we try to take every precaution we can,” he said.
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Schools follow what’s called a heat index. There’s a chart and guidelines that are sent out every day from county health officials to school leaders when it’s hot, and it helps them determine whether to limit time outside for students and instead have alternative activities indoors for recess.
Narducci said buses are air-conditioned and they hope families can help their students be heat-ready.
“We live around the corner, so either we drive them or we walk. But if it’s too hot, we have to take them in a car,” Susan said.
Educators and health officials urge families to help their students stay hydrated and to drink enough water.
“We’re asking our coaches and our teachers, be aware of those signals and signs. Listen to kids, if they’re complaining of a headache or if you see a distressed student, make sure they’re getting shade, make sure they’re staying inside. Make sure they’re properly hydrated,” Narducci said.
Dr. Shane Rainey, a pediatric hospitalist at Banner Children’s, said signs of heat illness in kids could occur later than in adults.
“Things like being faint or being dizzy or passing out, even, or things like excessive sweating or having cool, pale, clammy skin and fast heart rates and just feeling unwell, nausea… Those types of things are something to move to a cooler place and drink some cold water and try to cool off,” Rainey said.
For students who have to walk to school, Rainey said they should try and walk in shaded areas, if possible.
“If you can, definitely wear a hat. Sunscreen is definitely very important. Anything SPF 30 or higher to protect from that intense sun you see. Carry a water bottle, drink water the whole way, particularly when you're outside or when you're walking, and take frequent breaks if you need to,” Rainey advised.
