Agencies, parents facing challenge of what to do with kids during extended fall vacation

Parents of nearly 7,000 students had to find a way to keep them occupied and supervised while schools were closed this week for the first extended fall break.

Fall break began Monday for Clark-Pleasant and Edinburgh schools and this year, for the first time, those breaks grew from two days to two weeks long. Now, another 5,700 students from Greenwood and Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson schools will be on weeklong breaks, which are also longer than in years past.

The longer breaks are due to school calendars that changed so they would better align with the schedule of the Central Nine Career Center. Originally, Clark-Pleasant and Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson had considered providing remediation courses for students who were behind during the break, but right now they don’t have the money to pay for those courses.

After Clark-Pleasant announced its new calendar, working parents began comparing their October schedules with family to see if relatives could watch their children. Others turned to friends they knew regularly baby-sat during the day.

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