What would it take to get year round school?
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Anonymous
| It drives me crazy that we spend the last week of school watching movies and preparing for the summer, and the first week or so of school re-teaching the prior year's work because 11 weeks is a long time to retain knowledge if it isn't reinforced. Yes, I know I can enroll my kids in academic programs, but I do want them to have time to relax as well. I would love to see year round school. It wouldn't need to mean more school days, just longer Fall, Winter and Spring Breaks, and a shorter summer break...maybe 4 weeks. I know it's a pipe dream but it just seems to make sense for so many reasons.... |
Anonymous
| 3 more months of teacher, staff and administrator salaries and benefits. Money for improved air conditioning in school buildings. Money to beat the kings dominion lobby and ocean city/beach lobbies who want/need the long summers for business profits. |
Anonymous
| If you're ok with the 180 days of instruction but want it spaced out differently then still need to deal with to he summer business interests and figure our how the longer two week breaks will have camps/care for those parents who work and can't take 6-8 weeks of vacation a year. |
Anonymous
| Teacher here. I don't know what it would take, but knowing how much effort it takes to refresh at the beginning of the year and to wind down at the end, I would love year-round school, with 1-2 week breaks every six weeks or so, and maybe 4-6 weeks in the summer. |
Anonymous
| Let's get real, at this point MCPS can't get a new superintendent. Keep dreaming |
Anonymous
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Year round school doesn't have to mean a working parent takes every single week as vacation. Other than teachers, I don't know any working parents who don't work during the summer. Camps and vacation are mixed in for the kids.
My friends in NC have year round school and simply LOVE it. Popular summer camps got creative and have come up with fall/spring/winter options. (Even here, I see 1-week Spring break camps.) And families do take some vacations in off-peak times. The kids still get off time off at the "traditional" holidays for US schools. |
Anonymous
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I would love year round school also! I wish we could get it here. I have some teacher friends who also say they'd like it due to the brain drain over the summer, and the benefit of several shorter breaks built into the year.
We have friends in CA who have year round school and they have been really happy with it. |
Anonymous
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I shudder every time I hear year round school. I think kids need a chance to recharge and even get bored. After a long summer break they're excited to go back to school in a way I don't think you would see after a two week break. Not to mention some families take extended vacations over the summer together. Older kids can get a summer job or internship, but how many openings are there for someone who's only available for two weeks? I'm not sure about this area, but my mother-in-law was a teacher and I know she had to take college courses periodically to maintain her certification.
Yes, after a long break you need a week or two to review. This goes with the adjustment time of adapting to a new class and lets the new teacher see what level the kids or at. If you had four different holidays, I would wager that each return day would be spent with hyper kids talking about what they did on break and you would lose time there as well. While we're talking about summer, I would love to see them stop giving homework over the summer. Most people, unless they've chosen a high pressure/high reward job, don't have to work on their vacation. The kids who most need the work are the ones least likely to do it. Why don't we just accept that some review will be necessary and get everybody up to speed in the fall. |
Anonymous
| Another one here in support of year-round schools. I hate the fact that airfare doubles whenever the kids are on break. I would much rather be in the Caribbean on an uncrowded beach in late January then here. |
Anonymous
| I also have friends who love year-round school in. NC. The key for. MoCo is likely overcrowding. In the system I heard about, there are 3 cohorts with different schedules, and 1/3 of the student population is out of the school at any given time. |
Anonymous
I know plenty of teachers who work much of the summer and also have to put their kids in camps. |
Anonymous
| add me to the list. i'd love it |
Anonymous
| Hate it. Put your kids in year-round programs if you want, and stop trying to change things that work fine for the rest of us just to fit your preferences! |
Anonymous
| I would love it. The month of July off, the 10 day Jewish holiday period, week off for Thanksgiving, 2.5 weeks Winter break, 2 week Spring Break, 4 day weekends for Labor Day, Presidents Day and Memorial Day. NO teacher days, no half days. Plan breaks around quarters/semesters. |
Anonymous
No "teacher days" and half days? Does that mean you are willing to give up report cards (which a due at the end of teacher work days) and parent/teacher conferences? |