In a typical year, Titans can normally expect to have a ten week summer. Personally, I already believed this to be a short period of time. However, the district has now shortened the time period to eight weeks and five days.

This year’s school year ends later than usual, on June 18, and the 2021-2022 school year begins on August 18. The school board chose to have us end the school year later due to the late start we were given in hopes of returning to campus earlier this fall, but shortening the summer break is unfair to students. We were under quarantine ruling for all of last year’s summer, meaning we were unable to enjoy it to its fullest extent.
Normally, summers are used for traveling with family or spending time with friends, but amidst the pandemic,Titans were unable to do either of these things. Now, our summer is being shortened just in time for the world to reopen as everyone over 12 is able to get their COVID-19 vaccination.

I had hopes of going on vacation for three weeks out of the summer, but now that three weeks would be a third  of the summer, I would rather stay here to spend as much time as possible with my friends. Normally, we would be able to do both without issue. 

Along with this, the shorter summer puts students planning on going to summer school at a disadvantage. Normally, students are able to attend one or two classes throughout the summer to catch up on credits or get ahead, but this shorter summer leaves them with less free time after getting their work done. 

The first session of summer school will take place from June 25 to July 16, and the second session will be from July 19 to August 6. Even if a student only does one session, they are going to have to spend lots of their summer doing school related activities.

In short, Titans have been given the short end of the stick with the removal of this time off from school. We have already had to deal with the stressors made by this pandemic, and have suffered from the loss of our usual time off from school this past school year with the removal of our february break. The more time to recover from the toll placed on our health (mental and physical) in the past year and a half, the better. 

I understand the necessity of having 180 school days in a year, but it is disappointing to see this summer will not last like it used to. If we can not end school sooner, the start date for the 2021-2022 school year should be pushed back to the week of August 23.