When does school start in my district? Long Island students starting as early as Aug. 27

Schools across Long Island are buffing floors, decorating halls and adding air conditioning and other new features as they prepare to welcome students in the coming weeks.

Jericho will once again be the first of the region’s 124 school districts to open its doors, with students returning on Aug. 27. Among the new faces will be Robert Kravitz, who officially started his job as superintendent of schools in July. The Jericho school board conducted a six-month search before selecting Kravitz, the board said when it announced his appointment in the spring, calling him “a dynamic and accomplished educational leader.”

The Jericho district gets an early start so it can provide more educational opportunities for its students and include a range of holidays in the calendar, Kravitz said. The district’s contract with its teachers’ union includes 186 instructional days, more than the state-mandated 180 days. "Education is really a key to success," Kravitz said.

Two other Nassau County districts, Bethpage and Herricks, will kick off classes on Aug. 28. But most of the districts serving the Island’s roughly 420,000 public school students wait until September.

More than half the region’s districts — 75 of them —  will start school on Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day. Of the remaining districts, 33 will begin on Sept. 3 and 12 will hold their first classes on Sept. 4. (One district, New Suffolk, does not operate any schools of its own, instead sending students to Southold.)

“Managing a school calendar is a lot trickier than most people will think,” said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. Schools must provide at least 180 instructional days under a state mandate, and some have contracts with teachers’ unions that require more days, he said.

School calendars also include more holidays than they used to, including recent additions such as Lunar New Year, and schools need to account for the possibility of days off due to snow or other inclement weather, Vecchio said.

“With the growing number of recognized holidays and mandated holidays, it does make it tricky as to when you start school, to get the number of instructional days that you have required by the state and as outlined or dictated in your agreements with your unions,” he said.

'Everyone's just excited'

Regardless of the official start date, teachers generally return in August to spruce up their classrooms and engage in professional development, local administrators said.

At Walnut Street Elementary School in Uniondale, which starts Sept. 2, Principal Kevin Bracht said, “Everyone's just excited — that great feeling to have the hallways filled again, to hear the buzz of the conversations and the laughter of the students. We realize at the elementary level that the first day can be a mix of emotions, of excitement, nervousness, curiosity. I think that's true for most students, families, especially the pre-K, the younger ones."

He added, “We want them to know we're here for them, you know, and their presence brings life to every corner of our schools.”

Many schools roll out the red carpet for students at the start of the school year — metaphorically speaking.

But at Washington Rose Elementary School in Roosevelt, it happens quite literally.

The school lays down an actual red carpet on Sept. 2, from the main entrance to the middle of the lobby, Principal Clyde Braswell said. The day features music, applause and lots of hugs, as well as visits from the school’s cadre of “Men of Distinction" — local community members, clergy and alumni of the school who volunteer as role models, he said.

“The reception is phenomenal,” Braswell said. “The students, you just have to see the smiles on their faces. Some of them give us hugs. Every student gets a high five. That's the norm in our school, every student gets a high five, handshakes or hugs, whichever they prefer.”

Mascot visits and motivational messages

In Sayville, where the first day of school is Sept. 4, schools Superintendent Marc Ferris said the district is adding air conditioning in the high school's theater and cafeteria over the summer. Educators will also spend the two days after Labor Day focusing on ways to help students become critical thinkers and joyful learners, among other goals laid out by the school community in a recent survey, he said.

“We want them to be happy and mentally thriving,” Ferris said of the district’s students.

On the first day of school, there will be festivities throughout the district, including appearances by mascots such as a fox, lion and duck at the elementary schools, and events featuring clubs and other programs at the middle and high school, he said. “We really want them to come back excited about all the cool things they can do” in school, he said.

In the Comsewogue district in Port Jefferson Station, the first two days of school on Sept. 2 and 3 are devoted to building up students’ team spirit and confidence, with activities that have included scavenger hunts, tie-dyeing and other activities that involve the entire community, including students, teachers and staff. “We want those initial days we set aside to be super positive,” said Robert Pearl, principal of Clinton Avenue Elementary School.

For students in higher grades, the first two days have included problem-based learning and writing encouraging messages on sticky notes for younger students, such as “you’re beautiful just the way you are,” said Amanda Prinz, principal of John F. Kennedy Middle School in Port Jefferson Station. “And throughout the entire year, students pick them up as they need them, just for a little reminder that, you know, you're doing great, and there are people here who support you.”