What does the school year in the USA look like?

In the USA, the school year at many colleges is divided into trimesters, i.e. three sections. In high schools, on the other hand, a school year consists of two semesters. The dates of the vacations depend on the respective school districts.

There are about a thousand districts. For this reason, it is only possible to roughly determine when US students have vacation. A school year begins after the summer vacations, which can last between 8 and 12 weeks and are in the months of June, July and August.

By the beginning of September at the latest, students from all districts are back in school. Other vacations within a school year for students are the Christmas Holidays, which last between 10 and 16 days and are over Christmas and New Year, and the Spring Holidays (Spring Break), which last 9 to 10 days in March. Students receive a report card after each month of the school year for orientation, which must be signed by their parents. In addition, they receive a quarterly report four times during a school year.

If my child wants to repeat the school year voluntarily, which application do I have to make?

If there is a desire to voluntarily repeat a school year, this is only possible in the fifth to tenth grade. The parents of the school child or the students themselves (from 18 years of age) must submit an application. This request can be informal and is addressed to the transfer conference at the school. This conference decides whether or not the application is approved. As a rule, it will only be granted if the child has a long break due to illness and is only just able to complete the school year, and if the child has major problems the following year due to gaps in his or her knowledge.The application is often rejected if the students expect a bad report because of lack of motivation.