Has school always started so early back east? Ours generally start around Labor Day. Then we have the county fair that so many kids are involved with that they don't really "do" school those days. So, those 180 days that are so mandatory just means they are AT the school that many days.
I'm glad i homeschooled, also. One of the things i disliked when the grands were in the school (living with us) was working around their schedule. I am thankful that our school was gracious in working with us. We'd take the kids out for trips to the hospital or fishing or just cuz and there were no questions asked. Well, they had to ask if the student was "sick" to watch for symptoms of others at school.
