EUREKA, Mo. — At orientation day at Eureka High School, the freshman class got a big welcome from the upperclassmen.
Angie Ortinau was at the event helping pass out lunch to the new high schoolers. Ortinau has three kids currently in the district, so she knows her way around. But, there is something new all parents will have to deal with: a different calendar.
“It was a little bit of a surprise and a little bit of a scramble,” Ortinau said.
Over the summer, Governor Parson signed a law that requires Missouri schools to start no sooner than 10 days before Labor Day, starting next year. Ortinau is concerned about how it could impact her kids’ first semester finals.
“It's a potential problem having our finals after break,” Ortinau said. “Our kids are so busy and so anxious so that it would be better for them to have finals before Christmas, so they can relax.”
Ortinau said there is also testing in the second semester.
“AP tests are national dates, so we've already given our kids less time to cover that curriculum because they're meeting the same dates they already were,” she said.
Rockwood administrators say they already had next year’s calendar done and approved. They’ll work to map out a new one.
“We have a citizen committee made up of parents and students that come together each fall to analyze each calendar,” said Dr. Katie Reboulet, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. “We take that back to the community for feedback. It's a pretty involved process.”
Reboulet said she is hoping to speed up the process and give the community a new calendar as quickly as possible.