Bristol-Warren Schools Delay 1st Day For Jewish Holiday

BRISTOL-WARREN, RI — Bristol-Warren students will go back to school a little later than initially planned, the district's superintendent said in a public letter Monday. The start date was pushed back to accommodate the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, which will be celebrated from Sept. 6 to 8.

In a letter to the community, Superintendent Jonathan Brice said he was "issuing the directive that the Bristol Warren Regional School District's calendar be adjusted so that the first full day of school for all students and staff is Sept. 8." As a result, the last day of school will be June 17.

Brice said that although the district will accommodate the holiday this year, the change "does not resolve the broader issue of why some religious holidays are observed while others are not." Jewish and other religious holidays should be marked with a day off of school the same way Christian holidays like Good Friday are, he argued.

"It is my hope that next year some consideration will be given to making sure that the calendar represents the practical and cultural observances for our community," Brice concluded.