Classes for the upcoming school year will begin Sept. 3 and end on June 4, 2004.
By: Lea Kahn
The bad news for students is that the school house doors will open on Sept. 3 this fall. The good news is that classes will finish June 16 one week earlier than usual under the 2003-04 calendar adopted by the Lawrence Township Board of Education.
The school district will be able to dismiss students earlier than usual because the calendar, which was adopted by the school board at its May 14 meeting, does not close school for teachers’ in-service training sessions.
The last day of classes for the current school year is June 23. The 2002-03 calendar allowed for five days of teacher in-service training sessions.
In the past, school would close for the day while teachers attended special classes for continuing education, Schools Superintendent Max Riley said. But the new calendar calls for those continuing education sessions to be scheduled at night, in the evenings or on weekends not on school days.
In-service training allows teachers to stay on top of the latest research and literature on how children learn, as well as learn effective teaching techniques, Dr. Riley said. It will be up to the principals at each of the seven schools to schedule those sessions and to determine the information that will be shared with the teachers, he said.
While school won’t be closed for teachers’ in-service training days, it will be closed Oct. 6 for Yom Kippur, and Nov. 6 and 7 for the New Jersey Education Association’s annual convention.
Students and teachers will have a two-day Thanksgiving recess, scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28. Winter recess has been set for Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. Classes will resume Jan. 5.
Classes will not be held Jan. 19 for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Feb. 16 for Presidents Day. Spring recess is April 5-12. There will be no classes May 31 for Memorial Day.
The last day of school could occur as early as June 11, if the district does not use any of the three days built into the calendar for emergency closings, according to the 2003-04 calendar.
If the district uses all three emergency days, the last day of school would be June 16. If it uses two days, the last day would be June 15. If it uses one day, school would end June 14.

