School Calendar from a High Schooler Perspective

[XIARAN CHEN]

Hi all,

I hope this message finds you well! I have seen a lot of debate about the upcoming calendar change, and I would like to give you all an insight into what many high schoolers think about this upcoming change. First off; I have seen primarily strong opposition towards the balanced school calendar; though it is nice to have long breaks here and now, it greatly undermines any high schoolers' ability to participate in competitive summer camps, a great bonus for any high school transcript. Many of these research camps are around 6-8 weeks long, and with a 4-week summer vacation, it is impossible to participate in any of these programs. Second, many high school students participate in sports over the summer; I am going to a hockey camp in lake placid, and many of my friends honing their competitive sports skills by traveling to other places around the country. Third; many students use summer vacation to visit family around the world. All my family besides my parents live in Asia, and summer vacation is the only time long enough for us to travel long-haul and meet all my family members. Finally, while having a one-week vacation now and then is nice; it is dead time; it is too short to commit to any program, yet too long to just loiter at home. Please remember that summer vacation for high schoolers isn't just time to relax; instead, we use this time to pursue our hobbies and get a taste to the real world. These are just some main points I have and have heard from my peers; thank you so much for taking these points into consideration when making this fateful yet vital choice.

Respectfully,

Jonathan Chen (Sophmore).