According to Google Maps, Moraga is exactly 3 hours and 7 minutes away from Tahoe, the top skiing destination in California. In winter, hundreds of families retreat into the mountains to ski and snowboard at Northstar, Homewood, Squaw, and other resorts surrounding Lake Tahoe.
Campolindo needs a “ski week.”
Often, Fridays and Mondays feature empty desks in classrooms due to students skipping school for a long weekend on the slopes. While elementary school kids may find it easy to miss school, it is generally more difficult for high school students to catch up with both their homework and classwork when they are absent.
Many private schools have “ski weeks” or “ski weekends” that provide additional days off for winter activities. This system is intended to help reduce school absences. Every time a student misses a full day, the school loses the money the state provides based on attendance; a designated holiday week for ski trips would help the district maintain state funding.
Most Campo students visit Tahoe to ski, snowboard, or play in the snow during the winter. Many also go to Tahoe during the summer, but since that is over the traditional June through August break, it does not impact instruction or district income.
During winter, there is only a two-week break and one four day weekend.
I know a couple of competitive skiers at Campo, and they tend to miss a lot of school because of competitions and practices. Despite being amazing skiers, they don’t get any slack for missing school. Ski weekends (better yet, ski weeks) would benefit them. Squaw Valley ski team member Alyssa Parsons said, “Sometimes I miss things in class. If we had ski week, I wouldn’t get behind.”
As for the rest of us, we may not be “pro” at our winter sports, but we would certainly enjoy taking the time off school to exercise and have fun in a different climate. In the stressful preparation for winter finals, the opportunity to take a few days off would be positive for students’ mental and physical health.
