Running head: YEAR- ROUND SCHOOLING 1

Year-Round Schooling

Marisa A. Bauer

Viterbo University
YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLING 2

Abstract

The length of the American school year schedule has been debated by states and school districts

for many years since it was first decided upon during the mid-1800s as a way to allow children to

help their families on the farm (OSullivan, 2013). This paper will explore the advantages and

disadvantages of year-round schooling compared to the traditional nine to ten month school year.
YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLING 3

Year-Round Schooling

This paper will explore the advantages and disadvantages of year-round schooling compared to

the traditional nine to ten month school year.

Background of the American School Schedule

When our American school schedule was formed many years ago in the mid-1800s, it

was aligned to the lifestyle and responsibilities of rural students. These students had

responsibilities to help their parents care for and keep up with farm duties, and to help with

harvesting crops. Students were given months off from school to help with these duties. This

was the start of what we know as the traditional nine to ten month school year. Summer vacation

became a luxury to students, and many families would take their annual summer vacation to

amusement parks and other hot spot tourist areas. Having summers off from school was the

symbol of an American childhood (OSullivan, 2013).

Fast forward to the present. Many schools remain on the traditional nine to ten month

school schedule however the majority of school-aged children do not need time off from school

to harvest crops (OSullivan, 2013, p. 397). South Dakota Department of Education (n.d.)

reports unlike the traditional school schedule, some school districts provide year-round schooling

following a calendar plan of 45-15, 60-20, or 90-30. The first number represents the number of

days students attend school and the second number represents the number of days as off from

school for a break. The 45-15 calendar plan is the most common plan for year-round schools.

Year-round schools also offer different tracks which align with their calendar plan. A single

track calendar plan has all students and staff attending school at the same time. A multiple -track
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plan has students and staff attending school at different times, which accommodates more

students. This plan allows the district to not have to build additional schools to support the

number of students.

Advantages of Year-Round Schools

There are many advantages of providing students with year-round schooling. When

school districts offer a year-round school plan, students retain more of the knowledge and skills

they had learned during the school year, compared to what is known as the summer slide,

where a significant learning loss takes place during the months off from school (OSullivan,

2013). Unfortunately, Paechter et al. (2015) states students from families with low socio-

economic status consistently suffered more from a decline in knowledge and skills than students

from families with high socio-economic status (p. 1400). This summer luxury is not in the best

interest for our students with the high demands of the global 21 st century workforce where

students are competing with children from all around the world for careers (OSullivan, 2013).

With the frequent, shorter breaks in a year-round school, students and staff are able to

return refreshed with a positive attitude. Lower-achieving students benefit from year-round

schooling because they would not have to attend traditional summer school programs as

remediation is provided within the school year. These students do not feel singled out from their

peers and will combat common student beliefs that attendance at summer school is punishment

for inadequate grades (OSullivan, 2013, p. 405). Families also benefit from a year-round

school. Unlike traditional school schedules where students are on break for the summer, families

would be able to work continually during the summer and not have to worry about finding and
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paying for child-care services (OSullivan, 2013); however, it may be difficult to find child-care

with such frequent breaks (The Pros and Cons, n.d.).

Disadvantages of Year-Round Schools

There are also reported disadvantages of year-round schooling. One of the disadvantages

is the lack of funding to support year-round schools. Teacher and staff contracts, transportation

costs, and school buildings which are normally vacant during the summer months, would need

upkeep such as maintenance to ensure there is working air conditioning.

The differences in school calendar schedules between traditional and year-round schools

would greatly impact families, student employment, and tourism as well. Families with children

attending both a traditional school and year-round school, or attending different tracks, may find

it difficult to manage schedules. During the summer, many students seek out summer internships

and jobs to gain valuable work experience. These learning opportunities would be virtually

impossible for students who attended a year-round school. Year-round schooling also impacts

summer vacation and tourist hot spots such as amusement parks and summer camps. Year-round

schooling would negatively impact tourism [and] would be devastating to local economies

(OSullivan, 2013, p. 409).

My Opinion on Year-Round Schooling

After reviewing and learning about both the advantages and disadvantages of year-round

school, I would be in acceptance of year-round schooling. As an elementary teacher, I observe

first-hand the effects of long breaks on students as learners. For teachers at the beginning of the

traditional school year, the first couple of weeks is time spent on reviewing and catching up
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students from the previous years learning. With a year-round school schedule, the review and

catch up time would be minimal, or even eliminated, because students would not have such long

breaks. I do feel that students and staff would feel refreshed and rejuvenated after shorter, more

frequent breaks, and we would begin to eliminate the dazed, glared -over look on kids that begins

to occur during the winter months when there is a long stretch of days with no break in sight.

Frequent, shorter breaks would eliminate the feelings of teacher and student burn outs.
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References

O'Sullivan, M. T. (2013). The ten-month school year: Are we ignoring educational research in

order to preserve summer vacation? finding a compromise between educational

advancement and over-schooling. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal,

(2), 395-415.

Paechter, M., Luttenberger, S., Macher, D., Berding, F., Papousek, I., Weiss, E. M., & Fink, A.

(2015). The effects of nine-week summer vacation: Losses in mathematics and gains in

reading. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 11(6), 1339-

1413. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1397a

South Dakota Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

http://doe.sd.gov/

The Pros and Cons of Year-Round Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/choosing-schools-programs/pros-

and-cons-year-round-schools