St. Charles Unit District 303 students will start classes a week earlier for the 2019-20 school year, following a little trend toward holding the first day of classes before the midway point in August.

The first day of the 2019-20 school year in St. Charles is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 14. District officials decided to shifting the first semester so it ends before winter break. Unless there are “snow days,” the last day of classes will be May 22, 2020.

One of the reasons for the early start is to give high school and middle school students a chance to take final exams prior to the winter break. In previous seasons, teachers would either have to cram lessons so that students could take exams prior to the break or students would take their final exams after the break, putting a lot of stress on the holidays.

According to a story in the Daily Herald, a survey conducted last year by the student councils at both high schools showed 62 percent of students would like to complete finals before going on break and 81 percent of high school teachers favored the change.

School District 300 is actually first to start the season, on Aug. 13. U-46, Central School District 301, Kaneland School District 302, Batavia School District 101 and East Aurora School District 131 all start on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Geneva School District 304 and West Aurora School District 129 each start a week later, on Wednesday, Aug. 21.