For Jettie Kootman, 2007 is shaping up as the year of the shrinking summer.
Like many schools, her 15-year-old daughter's high school is moving its starting date a week earlier this year to Aug. 13, squeezing summer break down to two months, says the Paradise Valley, Ariz., mother. The change "messes up families and family vacations," ruining plans for an August trip.
Blame it on calendar creep. The traditional three-month school vacation has shrunk to two as officials extend classes deeper into June and reopen earlier in August. The result: "You have a whole nation trying to take vacation in the same two months," says Bruce De Witte, a Franklin, Mass., father of three. Families are adapting in many ways, from splitting up the family to vacation separately, to stealing back children's time by calling them in "sick" during the school year.
School officials say they need the added school time to reduce summer learning setbacks and prepare students to do well on standardized tests. Many also want students to finish fall-term final exams before the Christmas holiday. They're adding one- or two-day holidays during the year to make up for the lost time.
But parents say the squeeze on summer robs them of the flexibility they need to plan extended vacations. Increasingly competitive youth sports teams, plus intensive camp and service programs, are consuming more weeks of summer. Many working parents have trouble getting time off during the summer, when co-worker competition for vacation weeks is at a peak; narrowing the time-off window just makes it harder.
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