Why the American School Year Starts in Fall
The short answer is farming. Back in the day, rural families needed the children at home to help with harvesting the crops, so school would be put on hold for the colder months. In the cities, however, school essentially ran all year with a few short vacations throughout. Their school years ranged from 251 to 260 days. It wasn’t until 1852 that Massachusetts became the first state to enact a compulsory public education law, meaning parents who didn’t send their children to school year-round were fined. Shortly after, a compromise was made between urban and rural school systems to run at the same time.
