By Dan Miller, Today’s Family

There was a time, not so long ago, when summer vacation had a clear and civilized ending: Labor Day.

You had June. You had July. You had August. Then, after one final cookout, one last swim, and one more night of pretending you didn’t need school supplies until tomorrow, the yellow buses returned.

Now? Some schools start while August is still actively trying to melt the driveway.

I know there are reasons. Earlier starts can help balance semesters. They can make room for professional development days. They can allow for a full week off at Thanksgiving, which sounds lovely in theory.

But let me be honest: I would trade those extra November days for a few more in August without needing a committee meeting.

Thanksgiving week is nice, but August is summer. Real summer. Popsicle summer. Barefoot-in-the-yard summer. The kind of summer that should not be interrupted by math worksheets, bus schedules, and the annual hunt for the exact type of folder no store seems to carry.

And then there’s the air conditioning question. Many school buildings were not exactly designed with “early August learning environment” in mind. I remember thinking scorching hot September school days were torture when I was a kid. Now we send children back even earlier, sometimes into buildings where “climate control” means opening a window and hoping for a breeze.

To make things more confusing, neighboring districts often start on different dates. One child is back in school while their cousin is still swimming. One friend has homework while another is eating ice cream on his front porch. It’s not exactly a friendship-ending crisis, but it does make the end of summer feel less like a finish line and more like a staggered evacuation.

Maybe the modern school calendar makes perfect sense to administrators.

To parents, it can feel like we blinked and summer was over before the beach towels were dry.

So yes, I understand the reasons. I appreciate the planning. I respect the calendar.

But deep down, I still believe school should start after Labor Day.

Preferably in a building with air conditioning.