>>Orlando, FL - 31 July. The daughter of a friend of ours just started kindergarten there.
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>Some time in the 90's Orlando implemented a year-round schedule to improve facilities utilization. I don't know what the pattern is (I left in 93 so my information is way out of date), but different grades (or different classes within a grade) could start anywhere from late July to early September.
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>Different issue, but I believe they also went for several short (2-3 week) breaks rather than one long summer break with the idea being to minimize the amount of forgotten learning during the long break. I don't know what success it has had, but the idea sounded plausible.

I wondered if it was year-round school. I have mixed feelings about that. I do understand the forgetting issue, but I also remember from both childhood and my own kids that it takes a couple of weeks after school gets out to shake off the school year tension, and reach that summer feeling. Having several 2-3 week breaks during the year doesn't give kids that chance.

Tamar