Hannah Kriner

Mrs. Cramer
College Composition Pd. 6
23 March 2018
Should students go year-round school?
The schools of our nation have not been updated since the nations school system was
created. Why not? Technology has advanced, and society has changed, so what is keeping our
schools stuck in the same system it has been in for centuries? Our schools have a long summer
break because when most kids were farmers they needed the summer to work on the farm, but
in modern day we do not need that anymore. Schools should have a year-round program
because there is no “Summer learning loss,” there would be better use of school buildings, and
a more effective summer school system.
In my experience, I get so sick of school by the time the school year is over that I stop
trying to finish my school work and I just look towards summer. Also, when I come back to
school from summer I find that the first couple weeks are just review and that wastes time that
I could be learning new material. With a year-round school program, that information loss is
limited. According to Matthew Lynch, “Studies have found that disadvantaged students lose
about 27 percent more of their learning gains in the summer months than their peers. By being
in school the same number of days, but with shorter breaks, these students are able to keep
their minds on a learning track that may not otherwise be fostered at home in the off-months.”
The most popular schedule is 45 days of school with 15 days off. This gives students an
adequate amount of break away from school, so they feel rested and aren't stressed about
going back to school. Similarly, students get tired of summer break by the time it is over and
they're ready to go back and do some school work, but who go to the two extremes? Keep the
students in school so long they are sick of it, the keep them in summer they are sick of that.
Equally important, the school buildings would be in better use with students going all year
instead of the building sitting all summer with few students. Small breaks throughout the year
gives the cleaning staff more opportunities to clean things that are not usually a large concern,
thus a cleaner building
In addition, summer school systems would be more effective because using the 45-15
plan then those students who are falling behind get more attention they need. Teachers are
busy, they have many students who all need assignments graded and a portion of them already
need help. For students who need help beyond what the teacher is available to give, some will
just fall behind and give up. Then they need to go to summer school and catch up on a year's
worth of curriculum that they didn’t understand. According to Chris Weller, “In Wake County,
North Carolina, for example, attendance rose by nearly two-thirds between 1995 and 2007. As
a result, 37 of the county's 177 schools now rely on a "multi-track" model in which students are
split into four groups. Each group is staggered so while one group is on break, the others are in
session, and the building doesn't sit empty for three months.” With a year-round program, the
students who fall behind get multiple chances to catch up, pieces of the school year instead of
reteaching a year's worth of curriculum in a three-month summer break, and in this case, they
could be relearning with other students in a similar classroom setting and given another
chance.
Some would say that year-round schools would limit family time and chances to plan
vacations, but Ken McCleary found, “Some families agree that they take a greater number of
shorter vacations since year-round school but continue to travel on at least one major family
vacation a year,” “Families found it easier to decide what time of year to go on a family
vacation before year-round school,” and “Families feel that they can get more for their money
when they travel since changing to a year-round school calendar because of the time of year
that they are traveling.” This proves that families find it easier to plan vacations with a year-
round school plan because it gives them more variety and better access to vacation planning
and destinations.
In addition, there is no definitive proof of higher test scores or improvement of
performance with a year-round program, but my other findings still prove that life for the
students and their families would be better. Also, according to Matthew Lynch, “The traditional
school year, with roughly three months of vacation days every summer, was first implemented
when America was an agricultural society. The time off was not implemented to accommodate
contemporary concerns, like children needing "down time" to decompress and "be kids," but
was born out of economic necessity. In fact, the first schools that went against the summers-off
version of the academic calendar were in urban areas that did not revolve around the
agricultural calendar, like Chicago and New York, as early as the mid-1800s.” a year-round
school system is more modern and doesn’t stick to the agrarian schedule from the past. It is
time to move on.
Finally, a year-round school system is better for everyone. It helps the students with
more frequent breaks and a period to recharge, and it helps the students who are falling behind
to catch up within the school year instead of sitting in a class understanding nothing for the
majority of the year. Also, the “Summer Learning Loss” would diminish because there is no
summer break to lose anything. School buildings would be in better use instead of sitting all
summer with few students, instead, using the multitracking system the building is being used at
its full potential. Lastly it helps families with vacationing and family time in a more modern
fashion.
 Works Cited

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