Starting in 2018, students at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools will take first-semester final exams in late December under a calendar that shifts more school days to the second semester.
The school board in Township High School District 113 approved the concept Feb. 27 in a 4-2 vote. Superintendent Christopher Dignam recommended the change after a school calendar study found a high degree of support among parents, students and staff for scheduling final exams before winter break. The change is intended to free students from the stress of studying for finals during the two-week break that typically starts shorty before Christmas.
While other area high schools have started the school year earlier in August when making such a change, District 113 found little support for an earlier start on its surveys. As a result, the calendar committee headed by Highland Park Principal Tom Koulentes proposed creating uneven semester lengths.
A second District 113 committee chaired by Deerfield Principal Kathryn Anderson is looking at assessments and the impact of standardized tests, the college application process and Advanced Placement Exams on students’ social and emotional well-being.
Several Deerfield High School parents and students spoke in opposition to the calendar change at both the Feb. 13 and Feb. 27 school board meetings. Some contended the survey results are misleading because parents hadn’t thought through the implications of the calendar change before marking the box on the survey.
“I believe if we make this change, you will see that we have moved first semester finals from the least busy and stressful month of the year — January — to December, which is perhaps one of the busiest and most occupied months of the year,” said Bob Frank, a DHS parent.
Anderson said she’d initiated discussions with Deerfield students about changing the timing of School Chest, the school’s major charity drive, which has taken place in December. Anderson said some students thought November may be preferable to January, because November falls during the season of giving and a January drive could be impacted by weather and occur too close to Highland Park’s Charity Drive in February.
Twitter @KarenABerkowitz
