Definition of Year-round school :: essays papers

Definition of Year-round school Year round schools as cited by the thesaurus in the ebsco host states that year round schools are â€Å"schools that operate year-round but have not increased the number of days students must attend.† Education week on the web states that year round education is â€Å"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 crowding. Others think the three-month break allows students to forget much of the material covered in the previous year† (2002). History of traditional calendar school It is important to understand the reasoning behind the traditional nine-month calendar school year to understand why certain people believe there is a need for change. Woodward, A.C. (1995) â€Å"At one point in time, farming was the primary source of income for families, and everyone in the family was obligated to help. With this in mind, school calendars were scheduled to revolve around the harvesting and planting of crops.† However, the farming population in America dramatically decreased, although the shift away from farming had occurred, the change in the school calendar had not (Huitt, 1995). It is presumed that the school calendar did not change because of tradition of summers as vacation time and the temperatures. Because of the lack of air-conditioning, most schools opted for summer breaks due to the extreme heat and humidity (Glines, 1992). II. Implementing Year-round school â€Å"As determined by the New York State Board of Regents (1978), this school schedule encouraged forgetting. Longer breaks between formal instruction inhibited a student's ability to retain information.† (Woodward, 1995). Many year-round school advocates also argue that year-round school will ease overcrowding, enhance student learning and retention, and reduce cost. (Ballinger, 1988). Alcorn (1992) stated, "If students' longest break from the classroom is one month instead of three, it is possible to avoid what can be called the long summer of forgetting†(p.13). Ballinger (1988) asserts that it is time for a change in the school calendar because â€Å"the customary long summer vacation disrupts the continuity of instruction that curriculum planners desire.† He states that a less interrupted flow of instruction will help and enhance the knowledge learned of most able students by not reviewing at the beginning of each year and wasting time.