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YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS.
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Pros & cons, goals, examples, costs, role of parents, student performance.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Pros & cons, goals, examples, costs, role of parents, student performance.

Paper Introduction:
Year-round schools have been suggested as a solution to a number of problems for public education, and the program has been implemented in a large number of school districts in the nation to good effect. Many people oppose the concept, however, often because they have been habituated to the existing system or because they see the change as threatening in some way. The benefits outweigh the objections that have been raised, however, and the approach can be used as a way of reducing costs, improving the educational experience, reducing overcrowding, and conserving space and other resources. A number of schools in the nation have started operating on a year-round basis. In 1991 the National Association for Year-Round Education estimated that 736,000 students in 859 public and 13 private schools were attending year-round schools, and this

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She cites the case of one family that placed their child in awinter day camp. "Year-round school doesn't work!" Parents, 18 , 187.----------------------- 1 Nearly all schoolswould have additional storage needs: Our review indicates, however, that these one-time costs are fairly small in comparison to the capital savings (Legislative Analyst's Office, 199 , 178). However, evidence offered by the school district shows thattest scores and other academic indicators indicate that there has not beenan adverse effect on children (Chu, 1993, A3). In thelong term, though, the schools will find that there are more benefits thandisadvantages to this approach. Los Angeles shifted to year-round schooling in order to save space, and by staggering schedules amongfour separate "tracks," the schools could keep a fourth of the students onvacation at any one time and therefore increase capacity. Spreading thetravel around the entire year, though, would in the long run be a benefit.It would also increase travel to warmer climes in the winter, for instance,while reducing some of the crowding in the summer. Itreduces crowding for schools and makes it possible to get more done withoutincreasing the number of teachers on staff. Another objection that has been raised has less to do with the schoolitself and more to do with the parents and the surrounding community.Solomon (1994) emphasizes that parents will face an array of changes thatwill be costly and difficult. Onereason has been noted--there will be a certain capital outlay at thebeginning to improve the air conditioning or create storage space. Businesses would bebetter served by having people take vacations at different times of theyear rather than competing for the scarce summer months. According to theLegislative Analyst's Office of California in 199 , it costs almost $5million to purchase acreage and build a new elementary school to house 5 students, for a pre-student cost of about $1 , . A number of schools in the nation have started operating on a year-round basis. (199 , April). This means that eachunhoused student accommodated through the use of a year-round schedulesaves the local district a significant amount of capital outlay funds, andfor the state this means a reduction in the demand for state schoolfacilities aid funds, with a potential saving of hundreds of millions ofdollars. Some schools, unable to afford the extra expense, have returned to traditional terms (Gregory, 1994, 49).This argument is correct as far as it goes, but the fact that there may besome initial expense involved in making the change does not mean that thechange will not save money in the long term. Buena Vista,Virginia, adopted the system in order to improve curriculum offerings, cutspending on remedial work, attract better teachers, and keep its youngpeople occupied. Another reasonthat has bene offered is educational rather than economic. The evidecne shows that thisis a system that works and that it does provide the benefits promised. Thisschool has a longer schedule than the norm by some 35 to 6 days a year, aschedule believed to reduce summer learning loss. (1994, June). The Legislative Analyst's Office of California (199 ) tested thequestion of what effect the change would have on academic performance. The winter camps did not have the financialincentive to offer programs during the winter months because privateschools and other area schools were operating as usual. 4) A 1987 report on year-round education analyzed test scores ofstudents attending traditional, single-track, and multitrack calendarschools. Allowing for the special needs and demographics of thecommunities in which multitrack year-round schools have been placed, it wasconcluded that the year-round calendar is a viable option that can beassociated with achievement at or above predicted levels. Addressingsome of the objections may depend on the way the program is developed. Any schedule inconveniences some people, but it is true that the year-round schedule could offer many of the disruptions noted above. Year-round schools have been suggested as a solution to a number ofproblems for public education, and the program has been implemented in alarge number of school districts in the nation to good effect. Among theconclusions reached by several studies are the following: 1) A 1979 study was made of the Pajaro Valley Unified SchoolDistrict and found that the year-round school program had little impact onthe academic achievement scores of the students. Works CitedArmstrong, S. At the same time, the report notes that these savings would beoffset by certain capital and one-time costs, including the possible needfor installing air conditioning and adding insulation. Different systems, districts, or schools might offer a moreflexible program that fits with the specific needs of the community.Greater coordination between the schools and the community could preventsome of the child-care problems by providing incentive for winter campthrough some sort of pool of students. Solomon writes about her experience in theLos Angeles schools and notes the difficulty for working parents in findingchild care. TheAnalyst notes that literature on the subject is quite limited. has second thoughts on year-round school, but idea gains in nation." Christian Science Monitor, 1, 4.Chu, H. 3) A 1986 study of proficiency scores in the Oxnard ElementarySchool District showed that year-round students outperformed traditionalstudents in math, but that the reverse was true in reading. The Legislative Analyst's Office concludes that students in year-round programs generally do no better or no worse than students intraditional calendar schools. The difference between a summer camp and a winter campwas that the winter camp had shorter hours, and this meant that the parentshad to find before- and after-camp care for their child, which was wherethe added expense entered. Year-round schooling offers a more flexible program for students. 2) A 1984 study was conducted by the Los Angeles Unified SchoolDistrict, and it concluded that the year-round programs relievedovercrowding without reducing educational quality or negatively affectingthe academic performance of the students. Evidence should begathered from districts that have already instituted this approach to showthe benefits and to show how these distichs answered the sort of objectionsthat might be raised in the local district. The input of these interested parties canreduce problems that might be encountered later. Smart schools, smart kids. There is in fact evidencethat there can be substantial savings in terms of capital outlay, or themoney spent on school construction and rehabilitation. Many peopleoppose the concept, however, often because they have been habituated to theexisting system or because they see the change as threatening in some way.The benefits outweigh the objections that have been raised, however, andthe approach can be used as a way of reducing costs, improving theeducational experience, reducing overcrowding, and conserving space andother resources. It had also beenadopted as a way of coping with overcrowding. Teachers' salaries may go up, since they usually work more weeks, and there is limited time off for administrators. The year-round school will indeed be an interruption in the scheduleof people for a time. (1994, August 1). According to various principals and teachersquestioned by the Legislative Analyst's Office, students in year-roundschools have greater retention of subject matter, which leads to areduction in the amount of time that must be devoted to reviewing oldmaterial. In instituting year-round schooling, it is necessary to include allof those affected in the decision-making process, meaning teachers,administrators, parents, and even community groups that provide services tothe schools or the students. (1991). the problem of having children in afamily on different tracks could be eliminated if the schools had tocoordinate within a family so that all the children of a family were on thesame track. A two-week period forfamily vacations is schedule at the discretion of the parents, while otheroff periods are built into the program (Louie, 1994, 32). The savings that canbe made by not having to increase the staff makes up for the additionalmoney that has to be spent on the existing faculty. In 1991 the National Association for Year-Round Educationestimated that 736, students in 859 public and 13 private schools wereattending year-round schools, and this was a 4 percent increase over theprevious year's figures. To endure the summer heat, many schools must install air conditioning. Year-round schooling makes it possible to run moreactivities without adding staff members (Fiske, 1991, 96-98). "Everyone into the school!" Time Magazine, 48-49.Legislative Analyst's Office. The change to a year-round course also makes possible a variety ofprograms that cannot be undertaken in the present system, such as varioussummer activities that could be incorporated into the curriculum. One objection that has been raised is that the year-round schoolapproach is costly and thus does not save money: For all the advantages, however, converting to year-round schooling can be difficult and expensive. "L.A. Some parents raise objections on educational grounds, feeling that atwo-month winter vacation, as is the schedule in the Los Angeles schools,is detrimental to their children's education. The change has been opposed at times by the travel industry, whichrelies on having millions of people traveling in the summer. New York: Simon & Schuster.Gregory, S.S. In truth, though, the switch to year-round schools could be abenefit to a number of entities. "Most schools reject all-year class schedule." Los Angeles Times, A1, A3.Fiske, E.B. Some schools triedto cope with this by offering after-school programs, in effect creatingmakeshift day camps, but most of these programs were of poor quality(Solomon, 1994, 18 , 187). Theschools themselves will also find it wrenching to make this change. "Trading vacations for no homework." New York Times Magazine, 32, 33.Solomon, C.M. Year-round school incentive programs. One school that innovated in order to overcome problems seen in theyear-round approach is that of Beacon Schools in Oakland, California. This also makes it possible to cover more new material(Legislative Analyst's Office, 199 , 179-18 ). (1993, May 28). Generally, the year-round school was seen as away of making more efficient use of space and resources. Teachers may indeed make moremoney in a given year, which should not make them unhappy, but it is notso much more that it makes the change too expensive. (1993, May 12). Parents often note that the change destroystraditional summer vacations, complicate extracurricular activities, anddisrupt families whose children might be on different tracks (Armstrong,1993, 4). They havebecome used to having school at certain times, and vacations at othertimes. This is because they are accustomed to the existingsystem and have been expecting that it will continue forever. Forone thing, there is no reason why there has to be only one type of year-round school. Sacramento, California.Louie, E. (1994, April 1 ). Thedifferences in either case were quite small, though. These parents state thattheir children cannot retain what they learned in the beginning of theschool year.

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