Marblehead schools to start before the working day

Marblehead school committee approved Marbleheefe with a 3-2 vote for the school year 2025 before the working day this autumn.

The students will have a “soft start” with a two -day school week from August 27, but they will have from school this Friday and the following Monday.

“It enables some teachers to know the activities so that they can understand the children so that they can go to the edge and do it when they return from the day of the laboratory day,” said the preliminary superintendent John Robidoux.

Sarah Fox, board member of the school committee, voted against this calendar because she said that the only formal feedback that the committee received was the parents to request the school year after the start of the working day.

“We (feedback) received special education from a parent who spoke after the start, and she spoke about how this start, stop, start, stop with the gaps for students of special education is very difficult, which was one of the driving forces, why we moved to another format a few years ago,” said Fox.

Robidoux said he received a positive feedback for calendar change and would share this with the school authority after the meeting.

The other board member to vote against this calendar was Vice Chairman Alison Taylor, but she quickly emphasized that she did not agree with any of the reasons why Robidoux shared the change. She said she voted against this calendar because she didn't feel that in 2025 the year was to implement this shift.

“I just have the feeling that these children went through so much, and this is not the year for it,” said Taylor. “If it hadn't been this year and had gone through strikes every three weeks and everyone had lost these vacation as a result, I would support it.”

The chairman of the school committee, Jenn Schaeffner, and the members Brian Ota and Al Williams were the trio for the calendar 2025-26.