Excerpts from our book on Year-Round Education

While conducting our research on year-round education (YRE), we were amazed at how difficult it was to find reliable, accurate, and helpful information about year-round schooling (YRS). We continue to be surprised and gratified by the interest shown in our research both by those already involved in a modified calendar and those whose school or district are considering it. In order to address the need, we wrote this book. It is based on available published research, a number of unpublished school district documents, and six years of our own research. In response to requests for the information contained in our book, we have compiled the following overview and summary. The book is divided into three sections. In section one, we present some basic information about models and calendars. We provide examples, illustrations, and vignettes from the experiences of schools across the continent concerning the adoption and implementation of Year-Round School (YRS). Here we offer, in list format, the disadvantages and advantages that are thoroughly discussed and explained in our book.

Disadvantages of Single-Track Year Round Schooling

While a number of people raised some of the following issues as possible disadvantages, many indicated that they were perceptions or fears related to pre-implementation concerns. These were often not borne out in practice once the single-track schedule was implementated. The primary concerns included:

• availability of childcare
• the need for and cost of air-conditioning in the summer
• conflicts with the more common district schedule
• facilitating building cleaning and repair
• children wanting to be on same schedule as friends or relatives in other schools
• complexity of scheduling family vacations if children are in different schools on more than one schedule

Sometimes districts maintain that costs and difficulties associated with air conditioning and other considerations relating to physical facilities and operations are the primary reasons for not implementing ST-YRS. However, in general, after implementation has occurred, the last two items listed above are the most common enduring complaints. Children continue to want to be on the same schedule as their friends and there is little doubt that some families with children in schools with several different calendars find scheduling a challenge.

Benefits of Single-Track Schedules

To complete the picture of single-track year-round schooling, the following list represents some of the most commonly noted advantages reported by respondents.

• opportunities for intersession
• more regular visits to non-custodial parents
• time for teacher planning and reflection
• more motivation for both teachers and students
• reduced teacher burnout
• better attendance
• decreased vandalism
• fewer disciplinary referrals
• preparation time for teachers (especially helpful for novices)
• assistance for those with health problems
• relief of both personal and inter-personal tensions
• more conversation and reflection about teaching and learning
• reduced summer learning loss
• a change in the organization of instructional units.

While all of the reported benefits are cited with regularity, perhaps most important are those with a direct impact on the learning experiences of children. These include reduced summer learning loss and intersession opportunities, increased teacher reflection and conversation about teaching and learning, as well as better planning and organization of instruction.

From Chapter Two:

Disadvantages of Multi-Track Year-Round Calendars

The primary concerns, compiled from our surveys and interviews of administrators, parents, and teachers, include the following. It is worth noting that some of these are pre-implementation concerns that may often dissipate following implementation.

• complexity of scheduling family vacations if children are on more than one schedule, for example, junior or senior high school
• availability and ease of obtaining childcare
• the need for and cost of air-conditioning in the summer
• conflicts with other district schedules
• building cleaning and repair while students are in class
• children wanting to be on same schedule as friends or relatives
• time lost for track change activities
• teacher movement of supplies and sharing of resources
• administrator burnout
• controversy concerning track assignments
• potential for inequities in track assignments and the concomitant ghettoization of certain groups by track
• difficulty for community in knowing whether children are truant
• concern about fracturing neighborhood identify depending on how allocation to tracks is made
• difficulty of staff communication
• concerns about loss of school identity.

Benefits of Multi-Track Schedules

To complete the picture of multi-track year-round schooling, the following list represents some of the most commonly noted advantages reported by our respondents.

• opportunities for intersession
• regular opportunities to visit non-custodial parents
• time for teacher planning and reflection
• more motivation for both teachers and students
• less teacher burnout
• better attendance (student and teacher)
• reduced vandalism
• fewer disciplinary referrals
• preparation time for first year teachers
• assistance for those with health problems
• relief of stress
• reduction of conflict and tensions (among students and staff)
• more conversation and reflection about teaching and learning
• better year-round use of facility
• accommodation of more students in buildings
• greater student access to equipment and facilities
• teacher mobility and sharing of resources
• teacher communication and team teaching of units
• availability of off-track teachers as qualified substitutes
• increased community involvement
• improved parental participation
• promotes more focused units of instruction
• extended school year perceived to be more "professional."

From Chapter Three:

The discussion concerning multi-track models at the secondary school level suggests that the disadvantages and benefits are similar to those outlined in Chapter Two. In general, they are not repeated here. However, we do want to signal the potential disadvantage of trying to offer a multi-track schedule in a high school that is too small. Without careful consideration of the curriculum, it may result in the isolation of specific student groups on separate tracks. For example, if all of the ESL classes were on one track, and the college prep courses on another, what we are calling ghettoization would be the likely result. If a junior high school adheres to a middle school philosophy, this is not as likely to occur.

In the following lists, we focus on the specific advantages and disadvantages of single-track schedules for secondary schools not included in Chapters One and Two. The lists then, do not stand alone, but should be read as supplements to the lists from the previous chapters. Here are the disadvantages and benefits that have particular relevance to secondary schools.

Additional Disadvantages of ST-YRS at the Secondary Level

• extra work for secretaries and support personnel to track student courses and statistics
• students may have to participate in sports while off-track
• students may take "unfair" advantage of opportunities for remediation (by slacking off during the regular term)
• teachers choosing to teach regularly at intersession may experience burnout.

Additional Benefits of ST-Year-Round Schedules for Secondary Schools

• increased chances for remediation
• opportunities for acceleration
• enrichment opportunities not usually offered in secondary school
• decrease in dropout rate
• increase in graduation courses completed
• increase in graduation rate
• flexibility for students
• facilitates student jobs
• benefits of participating in sports (and other extra-curricular activities) while off-track
• increased learning opportunities for students
• increased opportunities for teacher employment during intersession
• students can accelerate graduation
• intersession provides opportunities for work-release programs
• professional development opportunities for teachers (visiting other programs)
• better college preparation opportunities (students may take more classes).

About SECTION TWO: Research and Perspectives

This section answers some of the most frequently asked questions related to the impact of year-round school on different stakeholder groups. To do this, we summarize what other research studies have learned and give a detailed account of our own study in which we compare the impact of traditional calendar (TC), single-track (ST), and multi-track (MT) calendars. In this section, we compare parent perceptions and examine the responses of educators at both the school and district level to the different calendars. We present data about student academic achievement and non-academic performance in which we compare student achievement in MT and TC schools in the same district over a six-year period.

About SECTION THREE: The Broader Context of YRS

Public education, as we generally know it, is nested. By this we mean that it occurs for students in classrooms, that are located in schools, which are administered by school districts and elected boards, and in turn that are guided by legislation, instituted to varying degrees, at state, provincial, and federal levels. At each level, formal structures and policies as well as informal beliefs and practices influence individual schools in unique ways. In part, these are due to the distinctive geographic, cultural, and demographic characteristics of each community.

It is common to hear parents, educators, and politicians make claims for education or appeal for changes to the current system "for the good of the kids." Indeed, it seems that almost any redistribution of resources, reallocation of funding, or introduction of new programs or organizational arrangements may be justified by such an appeal. While we hope that a reasoned consideration of what is best for students in any given situation constitutes the basis for educational change, we are convinced that other factors frequently outweigh purely pedagogical ones. There are so many outside pressures on educators and policy-makers today that it would be naïve not to examine how some of them influence, and too frequently dominate, educational decision making.

It is for these reasons that, in Section Three, we address some of the overarching social and cultural, political, and fiscal considerations related to the implementation of educational change in general and to year-round schooling in particular. We tell how some schools and districts have committed some fatal errors in planning, implementation, or in their follow-through. We examine why some districts consider YRS to be the best thing since sliced bread, while others have disdainfully abandoned it after only a year or two. We explain the difference between operating and capital cost considerations and how to accurately assess the costs or benefits of a calendar change. A key consideration, rarely addressed, relates to equity issues that we believe are central to the implementation of any restructuring initiative.

About the CONCLUSION

In the conclusion, we develop a matrix that offers three criteria for the consideration, adoption, and implementation of year-round schooling. These criteria, responsibility, equity, and sustainability are presented along the vertical axis of the matrix. The horizontal axis indicates that these criteria need to be considered with respect to four main domains: the political, social, fiscal, and educational aspects of schooling. We hope our book will be a resource for people who are considering year-round schooling and want to determine whether or not it is right for their situation. In addition, if people have already instituted a calendar change, we hope that the information about others' errors and successes will help them to avoid some of the common pitfalls and to achieve some of the desired promise of a calendar change.

"Year-Round Schooling: Promises and Pitfalls" will be published May 2000 at $45 a copy. It is available to be ordered from Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com), Amazon (www.amazon.com), your local bookstore, or can be obtained directly from Scarecrow Press at 800-462-6420.