Prince Frederick, MD – With major changes to the next school calendar in the works in order to comply with Governor Larry Hogan’s post Labor Day mandate, some advocates for a very special day off are seeking retention of a nearly 30-year tradition in Calvert County. At the Thursday, Jan. 12 meeting of the Calvert Board of Education (BOE) representatives of the county’s fair board were on hand to urge the calendar editors to leave Youth Day alone.
“It’s grown tremendously over the years,” said Nancy Zinn, a Calvert County Fair Board director and former BOE member. “It’s not just a day to get in free.”
In an effort to modify the 2017 – 2018 school year calendar, Calvert County Public Schools administrators decided to make the annual county fair’s Youth Day a school day with a two-hour early dismissal. The change was necessitated by Hogan’s executive order issued last August to start school after Labor Day and end it before June 15.
Zinn indicated the day at the county fair provided the student attendees with an educational experience with an exposure to agriculture, the arts, commercial exhibits and athletics. Calvert’s 4-H youth lead several of the day’s planned activities. Altruism is also a component of the day as the school children are “encouraged to donate a can of food” for the needy when arriving at the fair. Various dance troupes and martial arts schools perform under the outdoor pavilion during the day. According to Zinn, when the fair has a “good weather day” on the Friday designated as Youth Day as many as 45,000 individuals are in attendance. “It [Youth Day] has become a big part of the Calvert County Fair,” Zinn said.
Calvert County Farm Bureau secretary Cathy Cosgrove told the BOE that Youth Day at the Calvert County Fair presented an “opportune time for them [students] to get in touch with agriculture. It’s very important for them to have that connection.”
Calvert County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Curry stated during his report that his office has received a variety of feedback regarding the proposed revisions to the calendar. He noted that a final decision on the modified calendar would be made later this month.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com