NASHUA – It’s back to school for Nashua students this week, with district schools resuming classes Tuesday, and other area schools opening anywhere from Aug. 27 to Sept. 8.

The first week for district schools is a short one, running Tuesday through Thursday. Students will have Friday off, though school and district offices will remain open for business. Classes will resume on election day Tuesday, Sept. 8 following the Labor Day holiday on Monday.

Nashua High School South and Nashua North begin the day at 7:20 a.m. and go until 2:03 p.m., and the three city middle schools operate from 8 a.m. to 2:43 p.m.

The 12 elementary schools begin at staggered times between 8:10 and 9 a.m. See a full list of Nashua public and private school schedules, including preschools, online at www.nashua.edu/Nashua/Media/PDF-files/Events/School-Times-2015-2016.pdf.

The city’s new charter school, MicroSociety Academy Charter School, opens after the holiday weekend on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 9:15 a.m. in its temporary home at 500 W. Hollis St. in Nashua.

The first day of school varies a fairly wide amount in area towns.

Students in Milford and at Bishop Guertin in Nashua began classes last week on Aug. 27, while students in Amherst, Mont Vernon and Merrimack still have a week of summer vacation left and won’t head to the bus stop until Sept. 8.

The Academy for Science and Design in Nashua, and Merrimack’s Gate City Charter School for the Arts started Monday, and Hudson students will begin Tuesday along with Nashua district students.

School districts have discretion over when to begin the school year and how to dole out the class time, but it’s all the same in the end.

"We’ve traditionally used the 180-day calendar, but the (Department of Education) looks at that in terms of hours," said Nashua Superintendent of Schools Mark Conrad.

According to the Department of Education, elementary schools must have 945 hours of instructional time, while middle and senior high schools require 990.

In Nashua, this averages out to 5.5 hours of instructional time per day for middle and high schools, and 5.25 for elementary schools, with lunch and homeroom time not included.

School districts decide whether they measure their calendars in hours or days, as long as the total hours meet DOE requirements. "In the end, we still have to meet the hours," said Conrad.

"Some districts have gone to fewer days with longer days, but we’d rather not widen that summer learning-loss gap," said Conrad.

Summer learning loss refers to the decrease in academic skill students "lose" over the summer break that must be made up at the beginning of each school year.

Tina Forbes can be reached at 5946402, tforbes@nashua
telegraph.com or @Telegraph_ TinaF.

Newsletter