PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. – Summer vacation is ending already for some students.
Earlier this year, Brevard County approved starting school in July for an elementary school that’s tried a shorter summer break before.
On Monday, students at Challenger 7 will become the first in the district to start a new year.
The year-round calendar is three weeks less of summer vacation with just as many days in school, 180, as other schools.
The rest of Brevard County public schools start school on Aug. 12, but on Friday, Challenger 7 students were already meeting their teachers and getting school supplies.
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One of the teachers who introduced himself to the students and welcomed them back was Coach Brent Poole.
The PE teacher said going back to the year-round calendar has its advantages.
“First of all, I think that you don’t have that summer slide from the long summer,” Poole said. “And then, you have the nine weeks where you’re going to school. Then, you have the two weeks off which helps everybody because about the time everybody’s kind of getting tired of being here, you have that break.”
A parent, who is also a teacher but at another school, then told News 6 reporter James Sparvero about her childcare issues with adapting to the new schedule.
“My only concern is that there’s three weeks out of the year where I’m not off with them,” Kayla Tepper said. “So I’m unable to find childcare for the three weeks out of the year that our schedules are different.”
The chair of the county school board went to school at Challenger 7 when she was growing up and the school was on a year-round calendar.
The district said parents who did not wish to still send their kids to Challenger 7 could choose one of the other two elementary schools in Port St. John.
Wright has said the year-round calendar may be attractive to other communities suggesting more schools could possibly adopt the calendar too.
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