SPRINGDALE — The traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner doesn’t change much from year to year, but the number of days public school students take off for Thanksgiving is changing.
Most districts in Northwest Arkansas now give students a full week off, meaning three days off is turning into an old tradition.
Springdale will be one of only four school districts in Washington and Benton County holding classes Monday and Tuesday. The other districts are Siloam Springs, Elkins and West Fork.
Gravette students will attend school Monday, and they are off for the rest of the week.
“Three days was probably the norm in Arkansas (years ago),” Decatur Superintendent LeRoy Ortman.
Rick Schaeffer, public information officer for Springdale, said Superintendent Jim Rollins believes attending class Monday and Tuesday provides the best balance for getting adequate school time during the spring and fall semesters. They do not want to go too far into summer, and state law mandates that schools start on Aug. 19.
Elkins Superintendent Mike Harris said one advantage to holding school is the school year will end earlier.
“Every day you can get in, it allows you to get out sooner,” Harris said.
Fayetteville Public Information Officer Alan Wilbourn said the main reason for scheduling the full week off was because people scheduled vacations and attendance was low on Monday and Tuesday.
Fayetteville School Board member Tim Hudson used to oppose the full week off, but for 2009-2010, he changed his mind.
“I still have reservations about it, but knowing that for the last several years I was the one holdout, I went ahead and supported the calendar committee’s recommendations,” he said.
Hudson’s primary concern had been for parents who had to work Monday and Tuesday.
Bentonville Superintendent Gary Compton said a full week is the best fit for the community, which is the home of Wal-Mart’s headquarters.
Many people who work for the company move to Bentonville from other places, Compton said. The full week gives them more time to travel.
Some parents do work Monday and Tuesday, but the calendar is made in advance so they can plan, he said.
The districts that are providing a full week off do hold in-service days and training days for teachers on Monday and Tuesday.
Lincoln School Board member Earl Hunton said the full week off should benefit students.
“It gives everybody a chance to recharge the batteries, then we can get back to work again Monday (Nov. 30),” Hunton said.
Calendars are developed by committees and voted on by the district’s faculty before they are approved by the school board.
Decatur Superintendent LeRoy Ortman said he doesn’t like the full week off, but it was what his teachers wanted. A school day in November will probably be more valuable than one at the end of the year, when students are losing focus.
“I believe that you get more bang for your buck in terms of the instructional time spent with students,” Ortman said.
Both Decatur and Greenland are under state control because of past financial difficulties. Ortman said the full week off for both is a coincidence.
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