First days at Parker are always full of stories about summers, introductions to teachers, and the Corinthians Morning Ex. In past years, Parker has begun school before Labor Day. However, this year, the administration made the decision to start later, with the first orientation days falling on the Tuesday after Labor Day, September 4, and the first day of school beginning on Thursday September 6, and only two official days of school occurring that week.

The administration determines when the school year begins and ends, and when vacations occur. This is all decided in relation to the “Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)” with the Faculty Association and basic State of Illinois requirements. These requirements officially state when schools are required to end and start. The requirements are created by the Illinois State Board of Education, and focus on a variety of topics.

The CBA is a contract teachers sign at the beginning of the year. It is the contract between the teachers and the Board of Trustees, which deals with salaries and other issues, such as the start of school.

“According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in years when Labor Day falls on September 4 or earlier, the school will begin for students after Labor Day,” Principal Dan Frank said. “The Upper School will have orientation meetings for students and parents during the first two days after Labor Day, then Upper School classes will begin on Thursday.”

“I think it’s nice to start with an orientation, if only to convene the upper school, grade rooms, and advisories for a few moments to set the tone for the school year,” Upper School math teacher Ethan Levine said. “Perhaps it also gets some of the natural adjustment period from summer to school out of the way so that the first day of classes can be more of a normal day.”

The Blue Calendar is created by the administrative team who oversee the calendar’s creation. Director of Communications Nick Saracino manages the process for the school. During the creation process, faculty members, heads of the Parents’ Association, and the Board of Trustees President includes important dates.

In previous years, school has started after Labor Day, so this is not exactly new. The later start will not shorten or remove any breaks, as wondered about by students. However, it might affect teachers in the later run.

“Despite the late start, first semester is one day longer than it was last year,” Levine said. “Second semester, on the other hand, is five days shorter. I’m not sure if this will be enough of a difference to feel, but my recollection of last spring was that there were a lot of other activities interrupting classes, so the shorter spring semester might compound that.”

For some, this later start is a good plan for this year. Sophomore Spencer O’Brien said, “The shorter year has a lot of pros and cons, but overall I support the idea.”

Teachers are also in support of the later start. “It’s always nice to have the long holiday weekend before the madness starts,” Levine said. “I certainly had nothing against the pre-Labor Day start last year, but I’ll take the extra few days of summer.”