When we think about academic calendars, we think about the usual 9 months school with a long summer break. Just like everything, the school calendar has shown new innovations. The concept of year-round schools is not new, but certainly gaining traction.
The nine-month school calendar was designed to ensure children could help their parents harvest crops on farms.
Year-Round Schools have the same number of academic days as a nine-month school schedule. The only difference is that a year-round school is organized more evenly with consistent and uniform breaks. Students have frequent breaks but of shorter duration.
Pros of Year-Round Teaching
- When kids come back from a long summer break, they forget some of the concepts taught in class. This phenomenon is called the “Summer Slide”. It’s hard to prevent it even if you hire a private tutor. In year-round teaching, students do not suffer from summer slide, saving the teacher from revisiting those chapters.
- Schools can save budget on summer schools by addressing the remediation needs during the school year.
- Parents may not need to look for good childcare for a long time. They will not only save money but will be less worried about their children.
- Shorter but more intense nature of instructions with frequent breaks makes the teaching more effective than ever.
- Year-long school programs can make teaching a full-time, more lucrative profession for teaching professionals. This will attract new talent as well.
- According to studies, the 12 weeks summer break is too long for the children. Most of them, do not have enough engaging and interesting activities during the break. This often leads to boredom and wastage of time.
- More frequent breaks can help plan more family vacations. We cannot accommodate many family vacations owing to the nature of our jobs. But with frequent short breaks, it is possible to plan more family vacations.
Disadvantages of Year-Round Teaching
- The major downside is difficulty in adapting to the new style. Most families are accustomed to summer breaks. Parents may face difficulty scheduling family reunions and vacations.
- The initial costs of starting or transforming a traditional school to a year-round school are high.
- Keeping the schools open during summer can increase the maintenance and other costs by up to 10 per cent.
- Teens may face difficulty in finding a job due to lack of an entire summer break.
- Year-round schools’ students may not be able to participate in sports events that usually operate in the summertime.
- Students may not get the chance to experience summer camps missing out a popular part of the childhood experience.
Is Year-Round School The Answer to Your Queries?
To decide whether you should send your child to a year round school you should follow these steps.
- Thoroughly weigh the pros and cons of year-round school
- Contact the school you are interested in
- Ask your child his opinion of such a school plan.
- Keep in mind all the difficulties you will face securing a child care.
- Overall, go with what works the best for your family.
