By Caroline Gentile ’13, Co-Editor-in-Chief

The

first day of school seemed to come too early this year. Although summer always flies by, this past summer was in fact shorter than those in years past since we ended last year a week late. There have also been other strange schedule changes, like the new early dismissal days. But why have these changes been made?

“The state requires us to have 182 days and 178 have to be school days (i.e. when classes are in session),” Upper School Head Mrs. Luebbers explained. “Years ago, the state of Ohio allowed schools to count hours instead of days, but they have changed the law to only counting days and we were forced to comply.”

Previously, when the state counted by hours instead of days, Cincinnati Country Day was far in excess of the requirement. According to Mrs. Luebbers, who is in charge of counting the days in the school year, the school day at CCDS was 17% longer than the state’s mandated hours

According to the new law, in order for a day to count towards the 178 required days, school must be in session for five and a half hours including a lunch time of at least 30 minutes. At CCDS, school starts at 8:15 and ends at 3:15, which makes for a seven hour school day—much more than the state requirement. However, we still must go to school for 178 days.

Public schools’ solution to this state law is to shorten their school days. In fact, most school days at public schools are over by 2:30. For CCDS, shortening the school day is not an option. “We want classes to be of reasonable length,” said Mrs. Luebbers. “The academic program would have to change substantially to [shorten the school day]”.

Instead, a few times a year, there will be ‘early dismissals’. The purpose of these shortened school days—during which school would be over at 2pm—is to allow for more professional development time without extending the academic year any more than it has already been extended.

Cincinnati Country Day school is technically an independent institution. But how independent can CCDS be if the state can regulate how many days we go to school? One reason state rules aren’t so easily shrugged off is that the state provides funding for student services at CCDS, like school psychologists, learning specialists and the on-site nurse, accounting for approximately $600,000 in our budget, according to Chief Financial Officer Todd Witt.

Fortunately, there is a potential for change next year. The State of Ohio’s House Education Committee proposes changing the law back to counting hours, requiring 1001 hours for grades 7 through 12, beginning the 2013-2014 school year.

Whatever happens, Mrs. Luebbers noted that the Cincinnati Country Day School will resist any further oversight by the state to maintain its independence. “Students who leave CCD are extremely well-prepared. We are confident that we are doing a good job…and prefer the state not to mandate so much.”