DC Public and charter - is there interest in year round school?

[Anonymous]

If the schools with year-round schedules show larger gains in student achievement then the program will be expanded.

All the rest of this is noise. DCPS doesn't care about summer vacations or the needs of working parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer is way too short.

My kids do summer swim team and miss half of the season because they are still in school.

They also do sleep away camp. We drive to visit family for extended visits. They spend time without a schedule doing whatever floats our boat. They go fishing, kayaking, hiking. Ride their bikes for hours. We stay up late watching movies or playing Risk to the bitter end. We are spontaneous. They do a lot of wonderful nothing. They take on service projects. We relax. The list is long and varied, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I believe in summer.

I have a 6-year-old and a full time job that doesn't have summer hours or telework options and gives me 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. During the summer, she is in camp for the same hours she's in school during the year, except she's arguably getting less out of the experience because it's not geared toward learning and ends up being "watching movies" that I pay $250-400/week for. Maybe I will feel differently when she is older and able to do more on her own, but summers are a pretty stressful time for us, trying to figure out how to provide DD with good experiences while not getting fired.

Then you may prefer to attend one of the year-round school options.

We are at a year-round school. And yes, we do prefer it. My point was that not everyone is able to take significant amounts of time off in the summer to provide enrichment. I'd actually argue that MOST people are not able to do that.

M
How do you know you prefer it? It just started this year. I'd like to know your feelings come July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the schools with year-round schedules show larger gains in student achievement then the program will be expanded.

All the rest of this is noise. DCPS doesn't care about summer vacations or the needs of working parents.

DCPS didnt wait to expand it. They didn't even give it one full school year before rolling it out to 10 more schools. DCPS has an agenda. If hey want to expand it they will, regardless of data

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^And some of us sacrifice to give iur kids unstructured time. I don't want kids in school year-round when it's bad policy but someone else finds it convenient.

It's not bad policy. It's at worst, neutral. There is some suggestion it may be academically beneficial.

Your statement is ironic, because you act as if you are beleaguered by people forcing you to go by an oppressive schedule. Almost all schools have summer off... and there's really only a cultural reason for it. It's totally subjective. Unstructured time can come in a million ways. And you are expecting everyone to revolve around your "sacrifice"... as if no one else sacrifices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the schools with year-round schedules show larger gains in student achievement then the program will be expanded.

All the rest of this is noise. DCPS doesn't care about summer vacations or the needs of working parents.

We can only hope thew decisions are this logical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the schools with year-round schedules show larger gains in student achievement then the program will be expanded.

All the rest of this is noise. DCPS doesn't care about summer vacations or the needs of working parents.

DCPS didnt wait to expand it. They didn't even give it one full school year before rolling it out to 10 more schools. DCPS has an agenda. If hey want to expand it they will, regardless of data

It's also expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer is way too short.

My kids do summer swim team and miss half of the season because they are still in school.

They also do sleep away camp. We drive to visit family for extended visits. They spend time without a schedule doing whatever floats our boat. They go fishing, kayaking, hiking. Ride their bikes for hours. We stay up late watching movies or playing Risk to the bitter end. We are spontaneous. They do a lot of wonderful nothing. They take on service projects. We relax. The list is long and varied, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I believe in summer.

I have a 6-year-old and a full time job that doesn't have summer hours or telework options and gives me 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. During the summer, she is in camp for the same hours she's in school during the year, except she's arguably getting less out of the experience because it's not geared toward learning and ends up being "watching movies" that I pay $250-400/week for. Maybe I will feel differently when she is older and able to do more on her own, but summers are a pretty stressful time for us, trying to figure out how to provide DD with good experiences while not getting fired.

Then you may prefer to attend one of the year-round school options.

We are at a year-round school. And yes, we do prefer it. My point was that not everyone is able to take significant amounts of time off in the summer to provide enrichment. I'd actually argue that MOST people are not able to do that.

M
How do you know you prefer it? It just started this year. I'd like to know your feelings come July.

Well, that's fair, I suppose. Here is how I prefer it thus far:

1) I did not have to find camp options or take vacation in August, which worked well for me because I couldn't have taken a vacation in August anyway because of craziness at work. We were able to send DD to higher quality, higher cost camps in July because we only had to find camp for that month, basically.
2) We got to take our vacation during fall break, which worked better for my work schedule and personality, as I'm not keen on summer and enjoy autumn vacations. For people who weren't able to take a vacation then, there was a camp at school. I haven't heard anything about how that camp went, but it was run by DPR. I know a lot of people who have been happy with the quality of DPR camps and also some who are less happy.
3) DD's teacher told me that she appreciates the extra school days because she can slow her lessons down a little bit throughout the year. She's also excited for the prospect of less summer learning loss.

Happy to report back come July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^And some of us sacrifice to give iur kids unstructured time. I don't want kids in school year-round when it's bad policy but someone else finds it convenient.

It's not bad policy. It's at worst, neutral. There is some suggestion it may be academically beneficial.

Your statement is ironic, because you act as if you are beleaguered by people forcing you to go by an oppressive schedule. Almost all schools have summer off... and there's really only a cultural reason for it. It's totally subjective. Unstructured time can come in a million ways. And you are expecting everyone to revolve around your "sacrifice"... as if no one else sacrifices.

No, actually I would be just fine with a choice. I do fear DCPS making it extended year for everyone because that is how it has been implemented so far.

I take your point that people who prefer year-round are stuck with a different system. I just don't want it to go 360 degrees in the other direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^And some of us sacrifice to give iur kids unstructured time. I don't want kids in school year-round when it's bad policy but someone else finds it convenient.

It's not bad policy. It's at worst, neutral. There is some suggestion it may be academically beneficial.

Your statement is ironic, because you act as if you are beleaguered by people forcing you to go by an oppressive schedule. Almost all schools have summer off... and there's really only a cultural reason for it. It's totally subjective. Unstructured time can come in a million ways. And you are expecting everyone to revolve around your "sacrifice"... as if no one else sacrifices.

No, actually I would be just fine with a choice. I do fear DCPS making it extended year for everyone because that is how it has been implemented so far.

I take your point that people who prefer year-round are stuck with a different system. I just don't want it to go 360 degrees in the other direction.

I can see that point. Although given the charter system, I'm sure there will always be some options in the city. But in the end, all that really matters is the school your kids are attending
And the differential camp schedules and such are also an issue. I know an Alexandria year-round school has camps for most of the year-round breaks, but that is probably indeed more expensive. So in the end, you have to put the off-school days somewhere. It's probably a wash in the end. Parents have to take time off work or find care for the kids whenever the days happen to be off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^And some of us sacrifice to give iur kids unstructured time. I don't want kids in school year-round when it's bad policy but someone else finds it convenient.

It's not bad policy. It's at worst, neutral. There is some suggestion it may be academically beneficial.

Your statement is ironic, because you act as if you are beleaguered by people forcing you to go by an oppressive schedule. Almost all schools have summer off... and there's really only a cultural reason for it. It's totally subjective. Unstructured time can come in a million ways. And you are expecting everyone to revolve around your "sacrifice"... as if no one else sacrifices.

No, actually I would be just fine with a choice. I do fear DCPS making it extended year for everyone because that is how it has been implemented so far.

I take your point that people who prefer year-round are stuck with a different system. I just don't want it to go 360 degrees in the other direction.

I can see that point. Although given the charter system, I'm sure there will always be some options in the city. But in the end, all that really matters is the school your kids are attending
And the differential camp schedules and such are also an issue. I know an Alexandria year-round school has camps for most of the year-round breaks, but that is probably indeed more expensive. So in the end, you have to put the off-school days somewhere. It's probably a wash in the end. Parents have to take time off work or find care for the kids whenever the days happen to be off.

Also, traveling is cheaper outside of the summer, so if you can manage that then its a benefit there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^And some of us sacrifice to give iur kids unstructured time. I don't want kids in school year-round when it's bad policy but someone else finds it convenient.

It's not bad policy. It's at worst, neutral. There is some suggestion it may be academically beneficial.

Your statement is ironic, because you act as if you are beleaguered by people forcing you to go by an oppressive schedule. Almost all schools have summer off... and there's really only a cultural reason for it. It's totally subjective. Unstructured time can come in a million ways. And you are expecting everyone to revolve around your "sacrifice"... as if no one else sacrifices.

No, actually I would be just fine with a choice. I do fear DCPS making it extended year for everyone because that is how it has been implemented so far.

I take your point that people who prefer year-round are stuck with a different system. I just don't want it to go 360 degrees in the other direction.

I can see that point. Although given the charter system, I'm sure there will always be some options in the city. But in the end, all that really matters is the school your kids are attending
And the differential camp schedules and such are also an issue. I know an Alexandria year-round school has camps for most of the year-round breaks, but that is probably indeed more expensive. So in the end, you have to put the off-school days somewhere. It's probably a wash in the end. Parents have to take time off work or find care for the kids whenever the days happen to be off.

Extended school year is 197 days this year; regular is 175. So ~3 less/more weeks of camp / vacation in total to manage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer is way too short.

My kids do summer swim team and miss half of the season because they are still in school.

They also do sleep away camp. We drive to visit family for extended visits. They spend time without a schedule doing whatever floats our boat. They go fishing, kayaking, hiking. Ride their bikes for hours. We stay up late watching movies or playing Risk to the bitter end. We are spontaneous. They do a lot of wonderful nothing. They take on service projects. We relax. The list is long and varied, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I believe in summer.

I have a 6-year-old and a full time job that doesn't have summer hours or telework options and gives me 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. During the summer, she is in camp for the same hours she's in school during the year, except she's arguably getting less out of the experience because it's not geared toward learning and ends up being "watching movies" that I pay $250-400/week for. Maybe I will feel differently when she is older and able to do more on her own, but summers are a pretty stressful time for us, trying to figure out how to provide DD with good experiences while not getting fired.

Then you may prefer to attend one of the year-round school options.

We are at a year-round school. And yes, we do prefer it. My point was that not everyone is able to take significant amounts of time off in the summer to provide enrichment. I'd actually argue that MOST people are not able to do that.

The question was from a PP: "what do all these people do during the summer?" I was answering that question, not suggesting everyone has this kind of luxury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer is way too short.

My kids do summer swim team and miss half of the season because they are still in school.

They also do sleep away camp. We drive to visit family for extended visits. They spend time without a schedule doing whatever floats our boat. They go fishing, kayaking, hiking. Ride their bikes for hours. We stay up late watching movies or playing Risk to the bitter end. We are spontaneous. They do a lot of wonderful nothing. They take on service projects. We relax. The list is long and varied, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I believe in summer.

I have a 6-year-old and a full time job that doesn't have summer hours or telework options and gives me 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. During the summer, she is in camp for the same hours she's in school during the year, except she's arguably getting less out of the experience because it's not geared toward learning and ends up being "watching movies" that I pay $250-400/week for. Maybe I will feel differently when she is older and able to do more on her own, but summers are a pretty stressful time for us, trying to figure out how to provide DD with good experiences while not getting fired.

Then you may prefer to attend one of the year-round school options.

We are at a year-round school. And yes, we do prefer it. My point was that not everyone is able to take significant amounts of time off in the summer to provide enrichment. I'd actually argue that MOST people are not able to do that.

M
How do you know you prefer it? It just started this year. I'd like to know your feelings come July.

Well, that's fair, I suppose. Here is how I prefer it thus far:

1) I did not have to find camp options or take vacation in August, which worked well for me because I couldn't have taken a vacation in August anyway because of craziness at work. We were able to send DD to higher quality, higher cost camps in July because we only had to find camp for that month, basically.
2) We got to take our vacation during fall break, which worked better for my work schedule and personality, as I'm not keen on summer and enjoy autumn vacations. For people who weren't able to take a vacation then, there was a camp at school. I haven't heard anything about how that camp went, but it was run by DPR. I know a lot of people who have been happy with the quality of DPR camps and also some who are less happy.
3) DD's teacher told me that she appreciates the extra school days because she can slow her lessons down a little bit throughout the year. She's also excited for the prospect of less summer learning loss.

Happy to report back come July.

Now that is the LAST thing i want to see happen. It is so slow as it is!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High SES family here - as it is, the DCPS school year is too long for our kids.

Why? What do all these people do during the summer?

Relax, travel, go to camp, play, live unstructured lives for a bit.

Rich people things.

Exactly. And then try to make people feel guilty that they can't support their version of an idyllic summer.

Some of us can't take a whole summer of work to live unstructured lives (or pay to send our children to do these things without us).

Understood. But what is your larger point? You can't enjoy summer, so no kids should get to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High SES family here - as it is, the DCPS school year is too long for our kids.

Why? What do all these people do during the summer?

Relax, travel, go to camp, play, live unstructured lives for a bit.

Rich people things.

Exactly. And then try to make people feel guilty that they can't support their version of an idyllic summer.

Some of us can't take a whole summer of work to live unstructured lives (or pay to send our children to do these things without us).

Understood. But what is your larger point? You can't enjoy summer, so no kids should get to?

The first PP above is trolling. If her family were truly, truly high SES she wouldn't care about the DCPS school calendar.