LEWISTON – As students head back from April vacation, Lewiston mother of three Jennifer Willey has found the February and April weeks off a pain.

The February vacation comes too soon after the Christmas break, she said. “And what do kids do in February? There isn’t that much to do. Then, just as kids are starting again, there’s another break in April.”

Her youngest is a senior at Lewiston High School, and is involved in sports during the April vacation, “so you can’t go anywhere,” Willey said. “It would be wonderful to have one week off in March” and get rid of the February and April vacations.

That’s what Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque is proposing for the 2009-2010 year: Drop the February and April school vacations, and replace them with one spring break week in March. Get out of school earlier in June.

His reason: Give students a better education.

One week off in March instead of two weeks off in February and April would mean less interruptions in teaching and learning, he said. And this winter, with the existing vacation days combining with lots of snow days, “it was difficult to have a full week of school. Let’s focus on the school year and instruction,” Levesque said Friday. “We need more of an educational calendar.”

Secondly, the later that school lingers into June, “the more difficult it is to keep students focused,” Levesque said. “An early exit in June would be better.”

Under his conceptual calendar, school would get out for the summer June 7, providing there were no snow days. And if there are? A calendar that ends school earlier in June can better accommodate winters with more snow days, he added.

Another aspect that concerns Levesque is that non-education activities influence the calendar. Hockey and basketball tournaments are held during February vacation. Many families and teachers plan trips in April. What should drive the calendar, Levesque said, “is delivery of instruction.”

Levesque speculated his proposal won’t be popular. “Right now it’s just an idea,” he said. “I threw it out as a conceptual calendar. That probably will be as far as it goes.”

But reaction gathered Friday indicated support.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Ward 5 Lewiston School Committee member Norm Prevost. “It provides continuity. And once June hits, these kids’ thoughts aren’t in school.” A longer summer would also help students seeking summer jobs, Prevost said.

“It’s a marvelous idea,” agreed Elaine Asselin, a third-grade teacher at the Pettingill Elementary School. “What happens now is we come back from the Christmas holiday. We have teacher workshops and Martin Luther King Day in January. January is pretty cut up. This would give us a larger chunk to get through our curriculum without interruption. We could go from January to March with just a few days off. As a teacher, it has advantages.”

Auburn School Superintendent Tom Morrill said Levesque’s idea “does have merit.” For instance, it would make it easier to deal with extra snow days.

But Morrill expressed concerns, saying there are “longstanding traditions” and cultures built around the existing calendar. “To depart from that does require great thought.”

And some years, there is a lot of winter sickness. The February vacation provides “some degree of break,” Morrill said.

But the deciding factor to any calendar, he noted, “should be what’s best for teaching and learning,” he said.

Auburn is not considering changing its calendar, but if Levesque’s idea received “some degree of traction, we’d all be interested,” said Morrill.

Maine Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron also gave Levesque’s calendar high grades, saying it would be better for students, provide more continuity “and less disruptions.” There are some holidays in January, February and April, so students would still have little breaks, she said. “Overall it would help our young people stay focused in learning.”

And she agreed it’s more difficult to teach in June. “Global warming means our Junes are getting warmer,” she said, noting most Maine schools have no air conditioning.

Gendron said she made the same calendar proposal when she was school superintendent in Windham. “The community did not support it. So many are accustomed to the February and April vacation schedule,” she said. “That has been regrettable.”

Levesque’s calendar would not add any more days to the 175-day year.

He has handed his 2009-2010 “conceptual school calendar” to the Lewiston School Committee and will be showing the idea to teachers and administrators.

According to the teachers’ contract, the school department must consult with teachers on the calendar. The School Committee makes the final decision.