Why consider a balanced calendar?
· May be good for all
students.
· May lessen review time.
· May improve student
and teacher attendance.
· May reduce "burn-out"
in students and teachers.
· May improve discipline.
Facts about a balanced calendar:
Many communities find that
just changing the school calendar does not improve the quality of education.
Reasons why follow:
A balanced calendar does not
significantly improve education.
It's not a new concept. Year-round
education has operated since the turn of the century. The modern era of
year-round education began in 1968. The acceptance of year-round education
has been less than spectacular.
Since 1980, 95 percent of schools
trying year-round education have returned to a traditional calendar.
Standardized testing shows
that year-round education has insignificant statistical impact on test
scores, even with "at-risk" children.
Studies also have shown that
student and teacher "burn-out" often increase with year-round
education.
A balanced calendar does not
lessen review time after breaks. Proponents of year-round education state
that shorter breaks lessen learning loss and review time. Studies have
shown that memory-loss occurs within about four days. Review times that
follow the longer, more frequent breaks in year-round education are more
frequently required than in a traditional calendar.
A balanced calendar is not
cost effective.
Many school districts find
that year-round education is more expensive. Other districts reject the
calendar after taking a close look at the potential costs. Often, the
promised savings never materialize. Costs for year-round education from
schools across the country show significant increases.
In San Diego, Calif., 27 elementary
schools on year-round education lost $1.4 million in average daily attendance
allocations between July and September. This was due to absenteeism during
the traditional calendar summer vacation.
In Tempe, Ariz., a high school
experienced an increase of $157,000 per year in operating costs. Similar
increases have been reported by other arizona schools.
There is little down-time available
to make necessary repairs with a balanced calendar. This can shorten the
life of the school itself by as much as 50 percent.
Academic improvement concerns:
Resources available to expend on major educational improvements are limited.
Investing in year-round education will exhaust resources desperately needed
for far more beneficial reform efforts.
Year-round education advocacy
statements claim improved test scores, improved dropout rates, increased
graduation rates and lower absenteeism. Neither empirical data nor research
studies support these claims.
Relevant factors such as the
current use of instructional time, class size, curriculum, expectations,
attitudes, and individual students' needs must be evaluated where problems
exist.
Schools being used as models
for year-round education are ones whose test scores fell well below state
averages before implementing the calendar change.
Following the path of highly
successful schools is imminently more sound. The momentum that exists
in the traditional calendar would be lost. Time to wind down during the
summer would be lost completely.
Heat concerns: Danger of dehydration
and overexposure to heat and sun are unnecessary risk for students, their
families, and school employees. [Also,] lack of shaded structures for
recess; lack of air conditioning on buses.
Childcare and custody concerns:
Parents who rely on secondary students for childcare may have a difficult
time finding childcare.
Difficult to find adequate
daycare for only three weeks at a time. May increase the number of latch-key
kids.
Divorced parents who have joint
custody of children often have to send their children to their non-custodial
parent during the summer months.
Family time concerns: Year-round
education will disrupt traditional family and community activities. Common
vacations for all family members are more difficult to schedule. Traditional
and developing summer programs are not available such as college preparation
courses.
Extra-curricular activities
like scouts, camp, swim team, baseball, etc., would diminish or terminate
due to reduced participation.
Community functions are often
scheduled in the summer. Parks and recreation departments concentrate
primarily on scheduling their activities only during the summer months.
Families are geared to a concentration of summer activities. Traditions
of a 9-month calendar would be difficult to change.
Teachers concerns: Difficult
to work on an advanced degree without traditional summer vacation; loss
of extra income provided by summer jobs; sustained free time to develop
creativity, resourcefulness, and independence will be fragmented.
Plan of action: Year-round
education is experimental. It lacks any compelling research to justify
apparent disadvantages that would occur to students, teachers, and their
families. In order for our board members and our community to make an
informed decision we must be given thoroughly researched and critically
analyzed information.
As parents and concerned community
members we need to:
Get all the facts.
Contact the school and governing
board for dates and times of meetings that are scheduled to discuss year-round
education.
Telephone and write the principal,
superintendent, and the school board expressing your concerns. Contact
local newspapers and other media.
For Internet research on year-round
education (yre) and the balanced calendar refer to:
Www.bctf.bc.ca/education/yrs
Www.inet.ed.gov/databases/eric_digests/
Www.capitolresource.org/b_yre.htm/
Www.decaturdaily.com/news/yrschool/
Www.geocities.com/weswalker99/
Names and email addresses of
fcboe governing board members:
Citizens who oppose the balanced
calendar will be returning to gather signatures on a petition soon.
Kathie Prado
Peachtree City
Easy button Return it to long suffering taxpayers including those who have paid huge tabs to educate other people's kids…