Christian Piscitelli 

Staff Writer 

        The school calendar changes frequently with holidays, snow days, and parent-teacher conferences. Other breaks in between this time give students some time to relax, but is it enough? 

        For holiday break we have seven consecutive school days off; starting on December 23 and ending on December 31. Then, school is closed again on January 1 for New Year’s Day. There are two full weeks of school before the next day off on Martin Luther King Day, which is January 20.

        Some students dislike the long period between days off, scheduled days off in the school year allows students to be less stressed out and could possibly become more productive. At least one day off every two weeks would make students less stressed and could improve their overall health. Junior Emily McNulty states, “It would make me less stressed because I would have more time to do work and just relax.” Some school districts have even moved to a four-day school week to help productivity and the overall atmosphere of the school. 

         The evidence behind the new idea is that it will give students and teachers a better environment because of more morale, more family time, and not to mention the money the district would save on electricity, which can then be put back into the students. 

        On the other hand, a four-day school week might not be such a great idea because of the increased cost or stress on parents and a possible increase in homework for students. Parents would have to pay for childcare on the day off or trust the student to stay home by themselves which could lead to a bad situation.

        Anyhow, the Milford Board of Education calendar has at least one day off every month and in some months even more. This year spring break starts on April 5 and ends on April 10, a continuous week off which staff and students can both enjoy. The presidential primary on April 28 gives everyone one more day off, but the next scheduled day school will be closed is May 25. This streak of almost a month without a day off will be tough for students and could create a lot of stress.