The Rolling School Calendar Presented to the Board of Education Appoquinimink School District February 12, 2008

Purpose of Presentation To determine if significant interest exists by members of the Appoquinimink School Board of Education to warrant the investigation of a Rolling School Year Calendar

What is a Rolling School Calendar? A Rolling School Calendar education centers on reorganizing the school year to provide more continuous learning by breaking up the long summer vacation into shorter, more frequent vacations throughout the year. It does not eliminate the summer vacation, but reduces it and redistributes it as vacation or intersession time during the school year. Students attending a year-round school go to the same classes and receive the same instruction as students on a traditional calendar. The year-round calendar is organized into instructional periods and vacation weeks that are more evenly balanced across 12 months than the traditional school calendar. The rolling calendar minimizes the learning loss that occurs during a typical three-month summer vacation.

Major Benefits of a Rolling Calendar A rolling calendar facilitates continuous learning as the students are not ever out of school for a long period of time. As a result, the students forget less over the shorter breaks, and teachers spend less time reviewing pre- vacation material. The inter-sessions provide opportunities for quality enrichment, remediation and staff development.

CALENDAR COMPARISONS

The traditional calendar features a long summer vacation of 12 weeks followed by a long period of in- session days, with the first break coming at Thanksgiving. The winter holidays are followed by 55 in-session days before a short spring break. Spring break is followed by 40 work days before the end of the school year.

The balanced calendar reduces the long summer break and simply apportions those days throughout the school year, producing more frequent breaks and thus limiting long periods of in-session days, as well as longer vacations. Both calendars feature 180 days of instruction, with the modified calendar balancing the frequency of in-session days with days on break. The winter holiday and Thanksgiving break can be the same on both calendars.

Issues that Should be Addressed Does the calendar make a difference in the overall learning of students? Can a non-traditional calendar work on the secondary level? Is there a need for uniformity of calendars? What role does choice in education play? How credible is the research on the rolling calendar? What would be the reaction of the community to the rolling calendar?

If we move forward, what would happen?

Exploratory Committee We would form a small exploratory group to examine the benefits and needs of a Rolling School Year 8-10 Members Elementary Administrator Teacher Leaders (1-2 from each grade cluster) Parents (1-2 from each grade cluster) Community Members Talent Development Coordinator/extended time

Time Frame Monthly meetings By May 1: Identify need and supporting data for RSY- Research based Visit Central Elementary (Seaford) and Maple Lane (Claymont) to talk to teachers, administration and parents about the benefits and drawbacks to RSY Explore intercessions at other schools Work with administrators, parents and staff to decide where this RSY would have the greatest success Determine next steps by August 1