Class is in session, year-round: Students arrive for 1st day of new Challenger 7 schedule

Finch Walker, Florida Today
·1 min read

While summer break lasts a few more weeks for most Brevard kids, students at Challenger 7 Elementary School headed back to school Monday.

Superintendent Mark Rendell greets arriving students and parents Monday at Challenger 7 Elementary in Port St. John, joined by Janet Murnaghan, chief strategic communications officer for Brevard Public Schools. The school is now on a year-round schedule.
Superintendent Mark Rendell greets arriving students and parents Monday at Challenger 7 Elementary in Port St. John, joined by Janet Murnaghan, chief strategic communications officer for Brevard Public Schools. The school is now on a year-round schedule.

This year, Challenger is operating year-round, a plan proposed during the 2023-2024 school year by Megan Wright, school board chair.

July 22 was the first day back in class for grades 1-6 at Challenger 7 Elementary in Port St. John, which is again a year-round school after previously being one about a decade ago. They are the only public school in Brevard on the year-round schedule, which does not add up to any more school days over the course of the year.
July 22 was the first day back in class for grades 1-6 at Challenger 7 Elementary in Port St. John, which is again a year-round school after previously being one about a decade ago. They are the only public school in Brevard on the year-round schedule, which does not add up to any more school days over the course of the year.

It's not the first time Challenger 7 has welcomed students in the summer — about a decade ago, school was year-round there before the switch to a traditional schedule was made.

Rather than having a months-long break over the summer, students' breaks are spread out over the course of the year, with short breaks in fall, spring and summer, as well as breaks for Thanksgiving and winter holidays.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Back to the books: Year-round school program starts at Challenger 7