Wantagh Schools Superintendent Maureen Goldberg announced on November 27, 2012 that Wantagh School Districts will be open and have full days of class the week of February 18-22, taking away February break. Eight days in total need to be made up from Hurricane Sandy and the one snow day after. The school board decided that taking away one of the breaks would be easier than searching for days throughout the year in order to fill the requirement of a minimum of 180 school days.
Many students are confused about district officials dumping February break. “We are committed to giving 180 days of instruction and education to the students of Wantagh,” said Mrs. Breivogel, principal of Wantagh High School. “As a public school district, if we do not fill this requirement, we may lose funding from the state. We must adhere to the state mandate, which unfortunately left us with no choice but to take away February break.” Mrs. Breivogel also pointed out that private schools weren’t affected by Hurricane Sandy; they are not state funded and do not have to make up the lost school days.
Regardless of the reason behind losing a week to kick back and watch the snow fall, students are holding their ground. “It’s unfair,” said senior Marie Sgroi. “Everyone looks forward to break. We need time to relax.” If you take a lap around the high school, you’ll hear at least five students in every classroom voice their opinions on the decision and their plans to stay home and take their vacations regardless of the consequences. One teacher informally surveyed a class and found that 1/3 of the students were not attending school. “I’ll be hearing back from a lot of colleges in February,” said senior Jake Kaplan. “February break was the most convenient time to plan college visits. Now I have to worry about the work I’m going to miss in school.”
Whether you’ll be relaxing at home or sitting in a cold classroom, the unfortunate truth remains: February break of 2013 does not exist. As desperate as I am to catch up on some much needed sleep, I’ll be daydreaming about a Caribbean beach while roaming the halls of Wantagh High School.