Good Question: Why do school districts start on different days?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Why do local school districts start on different days?

On Tuesday, the school districts in Webster, East Rochester, and Rush-Henrietta were among those who welcomed students back. On Wednesday, RCSD along with the school districts in Hilton, Brighton, Brockport, and East Irondequoit welcomed students. You can see a full list of when schools start here.

Mary Grow, the superintendent of East Irondequoit and the president of the Monroe County Council of Superintendents, says start dates vary based on the required number of days our teaching staff are required to work. Some school districts begin their teacher days before Labor Day while all school districts start students after Labor Day.

New York State requires students to have 180 instructional days per year in every district. However, districts can negotiate with unions for different numbers of required days for teachers.

For example, in Webster, teachers are required to work 187 days each school year. Things like in-service days and parent-teacher conference days are also factors in determining the first day for students.

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