School Board Pushes Back Start Date by a Week

Schools in Prince George’s County will start one week later for the 2014-15 school year, meaning the end of classes will be mid-June.

The Prince George’s County Board of Education approved the school calendar Tuesday night, reports The Washington Post.

Last year, Prince George’s schools started classes on Aug. 19. This fall, classes will begin Aug. 26.

The 2014-15 calendar also adds a system-wide orientation day for sixth- and ninth-graders on Aug. 25.

This year, the last day for students is June 5, while teachers finish June 6. In 2015, the last day for students will be June 17, and teachers are done on June 18, the newspaper says.

School board member Peggy Higgins asked Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell to study whether the later start in the school year has any affect on testing. Since the board approved the earlier start to the school year in 2005, teachers have credited some of the improvements on the Maryland assessment tests to starting school a week earlier, Higgins said.