Public schools start with a 1-day week

The new state-mandated calendar seems to have boosted tourism in mountains, at the beach

Thousands of North Carolina students return to school today to hit the books. Then they'll hit the weekend.

On a day when most people's work weeks are winding down, most of the state's 2,338 public schools have geared up for a rare Friday opening that has puzzled some and amused others.

"My guess is there will be at least one student who doesn't show up," said Steve Takacs, the principal of Wakefield High School in North Raleigh. "There are some people who may decide to stay at the beach."

That's fine by the tourism industry, which pushed for the 2004 state law that keeps schools from opening earlier than Aug. 25 and ending later than June 10. And some students would just as soon wait until Monday.

"It's pretty weird," said Megan Veraldi, 17, a senior at Wakefield High, who was still working Thursday at her summer job lifeguarding at the Banks D. Kerr Family YMCA in Wakefield. "I think it's a waste. Why not just give us Friday off and start on Monday ... ?

"But watch, they're going to give us homework over the weekend."

Bo Burns, a freshman at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, was also bracing for weekend assignments but was OK with a one-day school week.

"It's a little different," said Bo, 14. "But it gives you one day to get used to everything."

Teachers seemed to favor a Friday start for much the same reason: Students can ease into the routine; teachers can set expectations; then school can start in earnest.

"From a teacher's point of view, it's not bad," said Judy Jones, a biology teacher at East Chapel Hill High School. "You get to meet your students and then have the weekend to get ready for them. ... This is a gentler transition."

Parents, too, figure that schools will get a chance to take care of necessary chores today, then focus on instruction next week. "The first days end up being a lot of administrivia," said Paige Mizak, a parent with two children at Davis Drive Elementary School in Cary. "There's a lot of housekeeping and things like setting class rules."

Mizak hopes for a worry-free weekend. "Here's hoping they won't be coming home with homework," she said.

Aside from year-round schools and more than a dozen districts with a history of snow days -- they've already been allowed to start -- the state-mandated calendar has helped tourism businesses from Grandfather Mountain and the beaches.

"We definitely feel like it's been a benefit to us," said Kim Hufham, interim president of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority.

Hufham said that lodging tax revenue in the county, which includes Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure beaches, was up last August by 20 percent over August 2004, before the law took effect. Although two hurricane scares in 2004 depressed business, Hufham said August '05 still exceeded the same month in 2003 by 10 percent.

Numbers for this summer aren't available yet, she said, but resort businesses have reported strong performances.

"We have definitely seen families down here through the month of August," Hufham said.

Harris Prevost, vice president of Grandfather Mountain, said business this August and last has been up as much as 20 percent for certain weeks during the month.

"If half the state budget goes to education," Prevost said, "then these two weeks give us a whole lot more tax revenue."

What's less clear is the impact on educational quality.

"We have no reason to believe that the calendar, one way or another, has had a significant effect on student achievement," said David Holdzkom, Wake's assistant superintendent for evaluation and research.

Former Wake Superintendent Bill McNeal, now executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators, said Friday as a first day wouldn't be the first choice of most educators. He noted that many school leaders opposed the law.

"If you're opening on a Friday, you're between a rock and a hard place," McNeal said. "I don't think that one day in the week fits the definition of being instructionally sound."

Paulette Jones Leaven, the in-school suspension coordinator at Carroll Middle School in Raleigh, noted that at least this won't be an issue again for years to come. "We're not going to have to do this for another 10 years," she said.

Next year in many districts, school will start on a Monday.