Imagine a child, on a hot summer day… no baseball, no swimming, no picnics or
amusement park rides. Instead of spending time doing all of the things kids like
to during summer vacations, this child, is attending school. Year round
education (YRE) has been around since 1904, with 3,000 schools and 2 million
students currently using the program (National Association). Students in year
round schools go to school the same 180 days that traditional schools attend. In
YRE, the summer vacation is eliminated, replacing it with shorter, more frequent
breaks. There is a number of ways the year round school can operate, including:
90/30, 45/15, and 60/20. The most popular of these calendars is the 45/15, where
the year is divided into 4 nine week terms, separated by 4 three week vacations
(National Association). YRE has been a debated issue in education almost since
it began. Supporters of YRE say this schedule improves the learning process. The
biggest debate, however, comes from the parents and teachers who believe there
are no proven studies that YRE helps the learning process at all. So, is year
round schooling a good choice for the education of your children? YRE will not
only hurt the education system, but it will create chaos for the lives of the
students attending and their families. Supporters of YRE believe year round
schools are more cost effective than traditional schools. With population in
some districts rising rapidly, YRE is said to reduce overcrowding of schools and
classrooms. In many cases, school calendars are changed in response to
population growth. By running schools all year, districts can pack in more
students and postpone building new schools (Endless Summer). Supporters of YRE
say that by staggering vacations and schedules, schools can increase capacity by
25-50 percent (Should Kids go). Supporters argue that the costs for the
transition form a traditional calendar to year round schools are modest compared
to the construction costs of new schools (Inger, Morton). However, those against
YRE feel that expenses will only be reduced temporarily. According to a “Year
Round Education Study” conducted by the Lewisville, Texas Independent School
District, “Findings of a year-long study concluded that there is no financial
benefit to operating a Single Track System. The system would cause a modest
increase in operational expenses without providing any instructional benefits”
(Time to Learn). In Iowa, the Carroll School Board found that the costs of the
district moving to a year round education system could range from $16,786 to
$32,412. Taylor Elementary School, in Cedar Rapids, spends more money according
to the classroom teachers that any other elementary school. Schools in Davenport
reported that the switch to YRE will cost an additional $36,000 in salaries,
$3000 per year for equipment, and supplies, and $22,300 as a one time expense
for teacher training. Plus, the move to YRE would also cost the district an
extra $92,626 to fully air condition the school building. In Des Moines, Moulten
schools spend about $80,000 annually for year round schooling. If YRE were
implemented, Indianola school districts would spend an additional $3,655 for
middle school and $5,000 for elementary school to pay for the additional
secretarial, administrative, and custodial time during the summer (Time to
Learn). Costs will not only be incurred with the schools, but also with the
state and with taxpayers. Cost savings for one of these groups may create cost
increases for the other (Naylor, Charlie). Contrary to what supporters of YRE
claim, there are definitely extra costs to implementing and maintaining a year
round education system. Supporters of YRE say that year round schools would
promote continuous learning. The belief is that students forget a lot of what
they learn while on long summer vacations. This is seen more in slower learning
students and for those who know English as their second language. It is also
thought that because students retain more when the learning process is
interrupted for only short periods of time, teachers in year round schools need
to spend less time reviewing pre-vacation material (Inger, Morton). Although
this seems true, opponents believe that there is research that needs to be
addressed. Mary Lee Smith and Gene V. Glass have done extensive research in year
round schools since 1974. In a study conducted by Smith and Glass, in a school
district in Colorado, the learning loss in the students was evaluated. They
found that although teachers in year round schools spent less time reviewing
pre-vacation material than teachers in traditional schools did, the actual
achievement differences were insignificant on tests designed specifically to
measure district objectives (Glass, Gene V). According to Don Patterson, a
member of the Albuquerque, New Mexico School Board that tried and rejected year
round schooling, “Short term memory loss is very acute. Studies show that the
only discernible summer loss occurs in the first two to three weeks. So, by
introducing all these multiple breaks, all you’re doing is maximizing
forgetting.” It has also been proven that forgetting and relearning are part
of the learning process. Gaps in student’s learning begin with loss of context
retention in the subject area, which begins within 24-48 hours, unless the new
information is reinforced or applied immediately. After a month without
reinforcement, about 80% of what a student has learned is recently lost.
Research indicates what we retain depends on student motivation and
teacher-effectiveness and isn’t limited to a time factor (Time to Learn). It
is quite obvious that YRE does not improve the learning process, as those who
support YRE claim. Supporters of the year round school system believe there are
many benefits in the program for students and teachers. Advocates of YRE say
families have greater flexibility in planning vacations that often cost less.
Parents that support YRE feel that the shorter, more frequent vacations allowed
students to remain focused and enthusiastic (Prisoners of Time). Angie
Maniscalco, a 5th grade student at Fairmount Elementary in St. Louis, says,
“Kids should go to school nine weeks and be off three because, kids get bored
in the summer. They get sick of swimming every single day going skating or
basically doing anything. I go to school for nine weeks, then get off three”
(Should Schools). Supporters also believe parents who are working outside the
home can take advantage of year-round care for their children. Teachers that
support the idea of YRE feel that the more frequent breaks reduce burnout, and
that the frequent breaks during the school year enable teachers to visit and
learn from other programs and other teachers (Prisoners of Time). Those against
YRE have different views about what year-round schooling will do for the
students and the teachers. In year round schools, middle, elementary and high
school students often have different schedules. While vacationing in the
off-season may work well, when children are on different schedules, vacations
can be more of a problem. YRE can certainly disrupt family life. With different
ages of students, vacations are difficult to schedule. For example, children on
non-traditional schedules may miss out on Boy Scout Camp, because their summer
vacation falls in the month of August and the activity is programmed for July.
School activities can suffer as well. One study found that band, chorus, drama,
and student government were particularly hit hard (Never Ending School). While
there may be some benefits to YRE, it is obvious that there are many situations
where the year round calendar will cause confusion in the lives of those
involved. Perhaps the most debated issue in YRE is that of the achievement
scores. Supporters of YRE claim that student performance in year round schools
is much greater. They believe that year round schools will yield higher
achievement scores that traditional schools. Many advocates for YRE claim there
are studies by the National Association for Year Round Education that report
that year round schools have a very positive impact on student grades. Although
supporters boast high achievement scores on tests, and higher student grades,
those against YRE disagree (Year Round Education: Is). Critics of YRE say there
is no evidence for higher academic gains under YRE as compared to traditional
schools. Studies and test scores repeatedly show little improvement by students
in year round schools. When test scores do increase, many educators hesitate to
attribute increases to the new calendar (Time to Learn). Many of these studies,
have been conducted by the National Association for Year Round Education (NAYRE),
a highly biased organization, whose consultants earn significant amounts of
income by promotion YRE. Robert Rosenfield, a systems analyst from Potomac,
Maryland, was so concerned at what he considered to be misrepresented data by
the NAYRE that he analyzed a substantial number of YRE evaluations in a 1994
paper. He concluded, “Each study presented in the NAYRE review has either been
incompletely characterized, or otherwise contradicted by other studies within
the same state or district. Nothing in the NAYRE review demonstrates any
academic achievement gain by changing to a year-round calendar.” In a 1993
Resnik study of Oakland Unified School District, California, concluded,
“Students at year-round schools show on average a lower academic achievement
level than those at other schools, and their achievement has decreased for the
period, while it increased for schools in the regular calendar.” Overall, as
you can see, there is little difference in student achievement between
year-round and traditional calendars (Year Round Education: Is). As evidence has
shown, year round education will not improve the education of our children. YRE
will cost more money for schools. YRE will not promote continuous learning. YRE
won’t create benefits for students and teachers, but will create chaos in the
lives of the people around them. Achievement scores in schools with YRE will not
increase, but in fact, in some cases, get worse. A few spoken views on YRE say
it best. Sheila Duty Gibson says, “Many students show that year-round schools
do not improve education. Changing the days students attend school does not
address what many believe are the real problems in education such as a lack of
parental involvement, teacher development, effective teaching methods and
curriculum.” An anonymous editorial in a North Carolina newspaper says,
“It’s time to face the truth. The year-round schedule is a personal
preference, not the answer to our educational problems. Year-round school
doesn’t work for everyone.” Executive Editor of Elizabethton Star in
Tennessee, said it well when he said, “Summertime offers our youngsters an
extended time to experience life in such a way that will never again be
afforded. If we are going to do anything with respect to school scheduling, we
should extend the summer vacation to Labor Day” (Time to Learn).

Bibliography
Burgoyne, Becky. “Backgrounder: The Never Ending School: Year Round
Education. 12 March 2000.