Dedham Public Schools to Poll About Pre-Labor Day Start, Half-Day Before December Break

DEDHAM, MA — Soon, the Dedham Public Schools will want to hear from members of the community about what they want to see in a school calendar.

At last week’s school committee meeting, Superintendent Michael Welsh said school officials are working on a survey about future calendars. Welsh said the idea of a five-question survey was discussed at a previous meeting and came up after he noticed the traffic around town on the last day before December break.

“I was amazed at the traffic congestion on the day before break and we had some busses that ran late and I was concerned about that,” Welsh said.

A polling of other districts showed that about half of the towns Welsh contacted have a half day on the last day before the break.

While still under construction, the school district is working on an online survey that will ask staff and parents if they prefer to start school before or after Labor Day, how the Jewish holidays should be addressed, if there should be a half-day on the last day before December break, if there should be a week off in March rather than breaks in February and April, and a question that addresses half-days for professional development.

Currently, the earliest the staff can return is Sept. 1.

The school committee is expected to approve the 2017-18 calendar at a future meeting.

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