Originally a four-day break, Memorial Day Weekend has been shortened and will no longer include Friday, May 24. The reinstated instructional day was one of five furlough days created to save the Carlsbad Unified School District money.
Although the majority of students relish these days of relaxation, furlough days reducing learning time and teachers’ paychecks.
“There was an agreement that if money came in better than expected, the district would restore the furlough days. The budget finally came in, and it was better than they thought,” principal Dr. Steitz said. “The school board restored the five days, so everyone will get paid. The other furlough days have passed, so as a result, the only one we can put back on the student calendar is the 24th.”
For students who have already made vacation plans, Carlsbad High has made arrangements to excuse their absences.
“Because the district is worried that a lot of parents have already made plans, they’re not penalizing the parents for having those plans,” Steitz said. “Our board policy about excused and unexcused absences is that if you’re absent and a teacher assigns something, the next time you come to class, it’s due. Saying a student is ‘excused’ doesn’t change anything.”
To not upset the balance of even and odd days, students will attend periods one through six on May 24. Even though it is a 1-6 day, students should not consider this day unimportant.
“Teachers may make an assignment to make sure students don’t think that May 24 is a blow-off day,” Steitz said. “I would say more than likely, teachers will be lecturing during that time because it’s a shortened schedule. Students would miss a teacher’s explanation of difficult material, [if they do not come].”
Gary Luo • May 6, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Awesome article!!! Keep up the good work 😀