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Should Public Schooling Operate Year-Round?

Ascania Alfred

South University

Should Public Schools Operate Year-Round?

At first glance specifically if your unfamiliar with the concept, year-round schooling may seem excessive, unconventional, and to numerous tax payers counterproductive. The National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE) defines year-round education (YRE) as, a reorganization of the school year to provide more continuous learning by dividing the long summer vacation into shorter more frequent breaks. Students in a year-round program attend the same classes and receive the same amount of instruction as students on a traditional nine-month calendar (usually 180 days) (McMillen, 2001). The operation of public schools year-round would strengthen academic performance by allowing students more time to learn, lessen the troubles encountered in the summer, and is all around cost effective.

The year-round calendar is organized into instructional blocks and vacation periods that are evenly distributed across 12 months (McMillen, 2001).

According to Warrick-Harris (1995), the term "year-round" is misleading, other descriptive terms include "continuous learning," "all-seasons learning" and "four-seasons school" (Warrick-Harris, 1995). Year-round school is the term most frequently associated with the organizational system that uses the school facility during every season. The year-round school is not an alternative curriculum for learning (Warrick-Harris, 1995). Many have never heard of such a thing. In fact, if you were to ask a student attending a traditional school their thoughts on year-round schooling, after they asked what it is they would probably disagree with the concept maybe even calling it insane.

Giving the opportunity they could probably give you a host of reasons why this unnatural concept would not work and how it would disrupt their lives. In need of implementing change to rebuild structure, more school districts are converting to year-round school to assist their counties experiencing rapid population growth, educational economic direst, and prolonged academic decrepitude. The operation of public schools year-round would strengthen academic performance, provide year-round employment for individuals working in the school system, and assist in the stabilization of economic stress rapid population growth has caused on a growing amount of school districts and its communities.

Every year millions of students across the country anxiously wait on the end of the school year in anticipation for the impending summer. “So much to do so little time” we can easily see in the excitement in their body language. Only a select few incorporate voluntary studies in their summer breaks. Most American students unplug their academic brains during the summer months and fill it with exploration, curiosity, respite and slumber. As a result, a number of students suffer from summer learning loss. Stated in research performed by Cooper, long vacation breaks the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting, and requires that significant time be spent on review of material when students return to school in the fall.

In addition, advocates say, the long summer break can have an even larger negative effect on the learning of children with special educational needs (Cooper, et al., 2003). For example, students who’s second language is English may have their understanding of the English language skills set back due to extended periods without using them (Cooper, et al., 2003). Additionally, there is growing concern that the negative impact summer vacations have on learning might be uneven for children from different economic groups (Cooper, et al., 2003). Tying summer vacations to equity issues, Jamar (1994) wrote, students from a higher economic background may return to school in the fall with a considerable educational advantage over their less advantaged peers. A clear result of either additional school-related learning. Furthermore, reading comprehension scores of both income groups declined, but more so for disadvantaged students (Cooper, 2003).

Research indicated that summer learning loss equals at least 1 month of instruction (Cooper, 2003). On average, children's achievement test scores were at least 1 month lower when they returned to school in fall than they had been when the children left school in spring (Cooper, 2003). Summer loss was more pronounced for mathematics and spelling than for other tested skill areas. A study by Sargent and Fidler (1987) provided some evidence suggesting that children with learning disabilities have a special need for extended-year schooling. Year-round school advocates claim that dividing the long summer vacation period into smaller pieces helps alleviate some of the "forgetting" that occurs over the summer in traditional school programs (McMillen, 2001).

Students who have nothing to do during summer too often turn to mischief, or worse. A disadvantage to the traditional school year calendar is the vandalism to empty to school buildings especially during the summer months (Warrick-Harris, 1995). Research performed by Warrick-Harris (1995), has shown schools operating on a year-round schedule have been able to reduce the incidence of vandalism and burglary. One of the strongest arguments given to increase the academic year is the potential for increased academic improvement by all students. It is also argued that an extended school year provides a closer fit with the lifestyles of today's American families, which often are headed by a single parent or by two parents with out-of-home employment (Cooper, 2003).

Research by Warrick-Harris (1995), concluded traditional curriculum content continues to be used in the academic schedules of year-round schooling. The advantage is these students retain learned information with minimal interruption from summer months (Warrick-Harris, 1995). Students retain more information during four short breaks than they would after the normal ten-week summer vacation (Warrick-Harris,1995). This education organization helps reduce the number of students who must be retained. Stakeholders have found countless benefits to year-round education. The year-round schedule allows teachers benefit from evenly spaced vacations. Parents and families find that this schedule not only provided for childcare most of the year but, they have more options for arranging vacations and can enjoy off-season rates and less-crowded vacation sites (Warrick-Harris, 1995).

Today local school districts often view modified school calendars as a means for responding to enrollment growth, inadequate capital improvement resources, and lifestyle changes of American families (Cooper, 2003). Advocate that suggest change in the normative school calendar point out that the United States ranks near the bottom among industrialized nations in the number of days that children attend school (Cooper, 2003). Educators feel the benefits to modified schooling year would be immense (Daly,2006). According to Daly (2006), teachers felt year-round schooling provided an increased sense of empowerment, reduced professional stress, more professional options, and less burnout. Sam Peppers of the NAYRE wrote a passage titled Prisoners of Time that resonates with supporters and non-supporters alike, it reads:

“There is the pretense that because yesterday’s calendar was good enough for us, it should be good enough for our children despite major changes in the larger society.”

The pie charts below provided by NAYRE compare the distribution of instructional days and days out of session on the nine-month traditional calendar vs. the distribution of school days on a balanced or modified calendar (Peppers, n.d.). Weekends are excluded from the charts, with both models representing a standard school year of 180 days (Peppers, n.d.). The traditional calendar features a summer vacation of 12 weeks followed by an extended period of instructional days, with the first break coming at Thanksgiving (Peppers, n.d.). The winter holidays are followed by 55 instructional days before a short spring break (Peppers, n.d.). Spring break is followed by 40 instructional days before the end of the school year (Peppers n.d.).

Traditional

Modified

The benefits of year-round school extend beyond the academic success of students. The school district employs a number of employees holding different positions but all play an interact part in the effective operation of our schools

Thesis statement:

The operation of public schools year-round would strengthen academic performance by allowing students more time to learn, lessen the troubles encountered in the summer, and is all around cost effective.

References

Cooper, H., Valentine, J. C., Charlton, K., & Melson, A. (2003). The effects of modified school calendars on student achievement and on school and community attitudes. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 1-52. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/214122165?accountid=87314

Daly, J. A. (2006). Teachers' take on modified school calendars. The Educational Forum, 70(2), 188-189. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/220692719?accountid=87314

Warrick-Harris, E. (1995). Year-round school: The best thing since sliced bread. Childhood Education, 71(5), 282. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/210385799?accountid=87314

McMillen, B. J. (2001). A statewide evaluation of academic achievement in year-round schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 95(2), 67. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/204192881?accountid=87314

McMullen, S. C., & Rouse, K. E. (2012). The impact of year-round schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from mandatory school calendar conversions. American Economic Journal.Economic Policy, 4(4), 230-252. doi:http://dx.doi.org.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1257/pol.4.4.230

Bower, C., & Of, t. P. (1999, Jul 19). EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR IS VIEWED AS A SUCCESS IN FERGUSON- FLORISSANT. St.Louis Post - Dispatch Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/403979695?accountid=87314