By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The start of public schools in Princeton would be moved up a week next year, to late August, based on a proposed calendar for 2018-19.
Students’ first day of school will be Aug. 29, 2018 and their last day will be June 14, 2019, according to the district. By comparison, schools reopened this year on Sept. 7, with the last day of school set for June 19.
Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane this week sought to offer the rationale behind the change.
“Learning is actually … more valuable and kids are more engaged at the beginning of the year than they are at the very end of June,” he said Tuesday at the school board meeting.
Cochrane also pointed to testing schedules in New Jersey, like state and AP exams.
“And so by having a few days at the beginning of the year rather than after those assessments, it actually serves our students better,” he said.
He also touched on how students who either have jobs or plan to attend camp, either as a counselor or participant, starting the third week of June.
“So when we start later, we end later,” he said.
Among other changes, students will not have school on Election Day next year, although teachers will have professional development, he said.
The school board is expected to vote on the calendar next month.
