Re: “So, start school later,” Sept. 8 Mike Rosen column; and “A later first day of school? Cool,” Sept. 12 editorial.
I wanted to take this opportunity to respond to and reflect on the very extensive feedback we’ve received on the record heat we experienced during the start of school in August.
I first want to take a moment to thank and commend our teachers, students and our parents for their work and their spirit of perseverance in the very tough classroom conditions.
I very much agree with the feedback’s common theme that we need to look for ways to address these brutal conditions. Clearly one approach we need to consider is to move the start of school back until September, and I am very open to that possibility.
This is a discussion we’ve had many times in recent years. And the discussion each time has involved all segments of the community — students, parents, teachers and community members. We’ve conducted several surveys that included thousands of parents, teachers and students, and each time a strong majority of respondents favored keeping the August start date. Here is a link to the results of the most recent survey, which was conducted in 2008: .
It is clear, however, that we need to have that community conversation again, in light of this year’s weather and the deep concerns we’ve heard from the community. That conversation again needs to include all segments of our community, and it should include a broad discussion of a different start date, the cost/value of investing in facility upgrades, and policy changes for days of extreme heat. Above all, the conversation should focus on the needs of the students and families we serve.
I look forward to the conversation this fall about the range of possible ways to beat the heat.
Tom Boasberg is superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
