By Tracey Edwards

W HAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A YEAR ROUND S CHOOL ? What is Year Round Schooling? A modified school calendar that offers short breaks throughout the year, rather than the traditional summer vacation. The calendars vary as do the reasons for switching to a year- round schedule. Some schools stagger the schedules to relieve cro wding

P RO ’ S V. S C ON ’ S Shorter brakes : Higher retention rates. Gives more room for enrichment Does away with reteaching Smaller vacations throughout the year Children will still loose retention even without summer vacations. Children learn at summer camps and recreational programs Everyone including teachers will experience a “Burn-Out” effect Continuing Education for teachers would not be available PROCON

F ACT V. S FICTION Fact : Operations on a 180 days Fact : Offers several breaks throughout the year Fact:Benefits “At Risk Kids” Fact: Helps benefit child care issues. Fiction : Goes all 360 days a year Fiction: No Breaks for Staff or Students Fiction: Altercations are at higher rates Fiction: Child care is a major issue

L ET ’ S V OTE !!

S O W HAT D O THE T EACHERS THINK ? Some of the issues brought up by teachers in year-round school settings involve problems with continuing their education, organizational issues, and conflicts in personal schedules. Many teachers in year-round programs are forced to move from classroom to classroom throughout the school year. Teachers are concerned about lost materials and just the general stress brought on by constantly moving. Continuing education for teachers is a big problem with year-round programs. “The professional development courses needed for teachers to acquire additional licensure or certifications are often during the summer when year-round schools may still be in session

S O WHAT DO THE PARENTS THINK ? There are numerous parental benefits but for almost every benefit listed there is a counter disadvantage. Advocates of year-round schools state that year-round schools solve the problem of looking for long term childcare over the summer. Along with teachers being able to take vacations in different times throughout the year, students and therefore families, have also gained that choice through year-round school Many parents also find it very inconvenient to have one child in a traditional calendar school and another in year-round schooling, this is why many are pleased that most year-round schools are offered as an alternative rather than a mandatory program Parents often have a hard time finding childcare for the three week breaks throughout the year.

S O WHAT DO THE STUDENTS THINK ? The improvement was decreased learning loss over a shorter summer vacation, increased opportunities for remediation, and positive changes in school programs The retention rates and grades are Higher with year round schools Beneficial to special education children because it institutes a larger measure of routine The frequent vacations that year-round schools provide contribute to better behavior Kids will miss out on summer camps and just enjoying the warm weather of summer. The Burned-Out feeling will eventually take affect

T HE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF YEAR ROUND SCHOOLING ADVANTAGE Additional exposure to English speaking environments. This was an asset to those students who may have spent their entire summer in non-English speaking environments With 1,000 kids on vacation at any given time, it was found that there was less pushing and shoving, fewer verbal accusations, and better discipline year-round school positively benefits “at risk students” DISADVANTAGE the Principals’ workload dramatically increased forcing the county to hire new vice principals to help with the increased administrative load. parents often have a hard time finding childcare for the three week breaks throughout the year The professional development courses needed for teachers to acquire additional licensure or certifications are often during the summer when year-round schools may still be in session

E XTRA -I NFORMATION Although there are many benefits to year-round school programs such as budgetary, population, and academic problems, there also many things to consider that are not beneficial. Some of the disadvantages include off season vacations which could often cause problems, student’s summer activities, such as camps, may have to be given up, teachers may have problems with continuing their education and family traditions could be disrupted, especially in cases where siblings are attending schools with different calendars. Also, many parents find it hard to find three week childcare providers.

C ONCLUSION There are many studies that include beneficial aspects. There are just as many that include the negative aspects of year-round schools not only on students, but teachers, communities, parents and financial aspects. It just depends on you and what is best for your child.

R EFERENCES Quinlan, C., George, C., & Emmett, T. (1987). Year-round education: Year-round opportunities. Stenvall, M. (2000). A checklist for success: A guide to implementing year-round schools. San Diego, CA: National Association for Year-Round Education. Web: Http.