So Long, Summer

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 4, 2008 5:20PM

Gone are the days when "summer" for school kids meant Memorial Day until Labor Day. In an effort to help kids learn more and stay safe, more and more Chicago-area schools are cutting back and starting school as early as this week. Last year, 18 schools opened at the beginning of August. This year that number is up to 41. Said Chicago Public School Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins, "We're going to the year-round calendar in many school communities because we feel that it will eliminate the summer learning loss that many of our students have experienced." Students won't be going straight through until with Christmas without a break, though: they'll have a two-week break in October.