Alaska's Mat-Su Borough Has An Idea: Let's Start School After Labor Day

Family Activities, Hunting Season, Camping & Fishing Are Popular At The End Of August In Alaska 

Bull moose. (Photo, Alaska Department of Fish & Game website) 

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has an idea. They want their school year to start after Labor Day. It's an idea that might have some traction, not just in Mat-Su but elsewhere. 

August is still summer. Alaska's very short tourism season is not over in mid-August when school typically starts. There's an opening for families to get out and about at the end of August before winter comes. It's still berry-picking season and hunting season – and then there's camping, fishing, gardening, chores, and tourism jobs that haven't ended yet. 

Labor Day is the acknowledged start of fall, and families throughout Alaska often feel resentful about the early school year, and its impact on their personal lives and interactions with their families' and childrens' uniquely Alaskan experiences. 

The Mat-Su school district will survey parents to see what they have to say.