Through the years K-12, school systems nationwide observe the same type of schedule, including week-long breaks in February and April. When you’re younger, the breaks seem awesome since you don’t have to go to school. I used to sleep in, watch my favorite TV shows, and most likely not even bother to change out of my pajamas. Looking back on it though, I would have preferred to soldier through classes with neither of those breaks and just end the school year earlier. Especially since snow days are factored in, there was one year that I didn’t get out of school until almost July! Growing up with both parents working full-time, I watched how difficult it was to coordinate childcare during those breaks. And having a younger brother still in elementary school, they still have to put up with it. The only breaks that I personally think are valid are for Christmas, as people are most likely making arrangements to travel, and the occasional day off for a holiday like Martin Luther King Day. Otherwise, February and April vacations are just a waste of time. Most teachers would assign homework anyway, so it really wasn’t much of a break from school. With that being the case, then kids might as well just be there.