Spring Break Returns to STMA

Spring break will reign once again in St. Michael-Albertville next year. The closest thing STMA students got to a spring break this year just ended Monday, capping off with the season’s second largest snowstorm.

Needless to say, Superintendent Dr. Marcia Ziegler said she has received multiple requests that the district allow for a full week spring break, and preferably not placing it in the heart of the Minnesota winter.

Though she said they strive to include such a break at least every other year, the past two years have proved impossible to schedule one because Labor Day fell so late in September. With next year’s school year starting on Sept. 6, the possibility was there to include a spring break for the first time in three years.

“We’ve had a lot of constituent feedback,” board chair Doug Birk noted, who lightly dubbed this decision ‘the most interesting and important topic of the year,’ based on the vast and numerous responses they have received regarding this topic.

The two final calendar options under consideration had one option with a shorter mid-winter break over the President’s Day holiday, similar to this year’s school schedule, and a June 1 end to the year.

The other option included a full week-long spring break between the second and third trimesters, which falls in mid-March. However, this schedule would push the last day of school out to June 8.

After talking with administrators and teachers and getting feedback from the public, Ziegler said they began to lean towards the full spring break option.

“They each meet the academic needs that we need for our students as far as testing … when trimesters end and getting staff development days in there,” Ziegler said. “This calendar works, and it does give what the board said of trying to put in a spring break every other year.”

The blessing from Albertville Friendly City Days’ coordinator, LeRoy Berning, also helped solidify their decision. At the previous board meeting, a few of the board members expressed concern about holding graduation on June 8, which falls over the annual town festival next summer. However, Berning said he didn’t think graduation would negatively impact any of the festival’s goings-on.

Ziegler said it may seem easy for people to arrange what they see as the perfect break, but there are many limitations school administrators must work around that many don’t know about, such as their contractual obligations to certified staff.

For instance, she said the district is required to give staff a day off between trimesters because they have new students to integrate and grading to finalize. They are also under contract to give specific holidays off to certified staff.
“It looks easy when you look at it … but it’s not as easy as it seem with all the background knowledge,” she said.

The board unanimously approved the 2011-2012 school calendar, which will run from Sept. 6, 2011-June 8, 2012, with a week-long spring break March 12-16.