As students head home on December 22nd, they should be prepared to relax and recharge over Winter Break. However, the current system of finishing the semester almost two weeks after the break ends diminishes from that. 

Since Fargo Public Schools (FPS) finishes the semester in mid-January, it’s common for students to have homework over the break. Additionally, students often have to worry about the finals they will come back to. If a student has to be anxious and do work over the holidays, they won’t be able to recharge. This means that they will be less successful and content in their schooltime after the break.

So, how can this be fixed? Looking at Shanley High School’s schedule (which has the same amount of school days), it’s perfectly possible to stagger the schedule so students finish semester 1 before winter break. If FPS started a week earlier and turned its early out days (which teachers and students generally dislike) into full days, it would be possible to have the semesters about even and still have Winter Break line up as the end of the semester. FPS should consider making this change, as it would lessen student anxiety and improve student performance after the break.