Area schools look to celebrate holidays-in classrooms

While Carbondale School District 165 school administrators are attempting to keep students in school for two holidays, SIUC administrators have added an extra holiday into the University's calendar. Earlier this month, Carbondale Community High School District 165 held a public meeting to continue to exempt out of Casimir Pulaski Day and Lincoln's birthday. If approved by the Illinois State Board of Education, students in Carbondale school district 165 will be attending school on the two holidays for another five years.

In 1995, the state's school code under the Illinois School Board of Education was amended to allow school districts the opportunity to apply for waivers that would allow school districts to exempt from a total of 12 state and federal holidays. In addition to Casimir Pulaski day, which is celebrated on the first Monday in March, and Lincoln's birthday, celebrated Feb. 12, other eligible holidays include Columbus Day and Martin Luther King's birthday. Naomi Greene, a spokeswoman for the Illinois School Board of Education, said the purpose of the law is to help stimulate innovation within schools and among students.

Greene said in order for an exemption to be requested, a school district must prove it can better meet the intent of the holiday in class. Steve Sabens, Carbondale Community High School District 165 superintendent, said the district's option to keep students in school for Casimir Pulaski day and Lincoln's birthday does not change the number of days students attend school but cuts their calendar year two days short. State law requires all primary school students to attend 176 days out of each calendar year. Sabens said the district has opted to exempt out of the two holidays for the past seven years and would like to continue to do so.

"We choose to be in school and we recognize those holidays while we're in school," Sabens said. Similarly, colleges and universities have the discretion to decide which holidays to recognize and which ones to not. SIUC administration recently approved Veteran's day as a school holiday, providing it falls on a weekday. The holiday had not been recognized in the past. Tina Collins, SIU director of records and registration, said an interest in the holiday by students and staff prompted Chancellor Walter Wendler to approve the day as a University holiday. Collins said unlike primary schools, which recognize federal and state holidays, the University only observes federal holidays. Traditionally, SIU has observed six of the 10 holidays recognized by the federal government. Those holidays are: New Years Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The addition of Veterans Day brings the number up to seven.

This year Veteran's Day will fall on Friday Nov. 11. Because the holiday will fall on a Saturday and Sunday for the following two years the University will not observe it again until 2008. Collins said maintaining instruction time makes it impossible for the University to fit every federal holiday into the academic calendar. "It's always a tough job for the calendar committee to decide," Collins, who works on the committee, said. "There are so many people and so many holidays vying for time."

By state law, college students are required to attend 156 days of class or 78 class days per semester in a calendar year. In Illinois there are several hundred primary school districts with holiday waivers. In Jackson County, seven school districts have holiday waivers, including Carbondale school districts 165 and 95. Mark Wancket, a principle consultant for the ISBE, said although 12 holidays are eligible for exemption, Illinois school districts have only requested waivers for seven holidays since the law was enacted.