Year Round School
Meghan Allen, Alix Fries, Maddie McCulley, and CJ Trogdon
Thesis
What is Year Round School?
According to Louis Wildman one type of Year Round school system is the single track (Wildman 2). The single track has three different variations. When students run on a 45/15 track students will go to school for 45 days then have 15 days off. Next is the 60/20 track like the last one students would go to school for 60 days then have 20 days off. The last single track way is the Orchard plan where the students are in school for eleven months and placed on a five track. The five track means that the students rotate to five different sections throughout the year and one section they have off. So at one time the school only has four-fifths of their student. But like the single tracks above the the students are in school 60 days then off for 15. The other type of track according to Lynn-nore Chittom and Jeff Klassen is multi-track system . This combines several versions of the single track (Chittom, Klassen 1). So the school have several groups of students on 45/15 track and this helps maximize the use of the school.
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Year Round School. N.d. Controversies 3. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
The Summer Slide
The summer slide is the period of time where school gets out and school comes back in session. The main issue is the amount of knowledge students retain during this time. “Summer slide” is the tendency for students, especially those from low-income families, to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. Switching to a year round schooling system would strongly benefit students and prevent this “slide” of knowledge. Students would be given more breaks but they are spaced apart so it isn't like students are being deprived of time off. Year round schools are also required a two weeks “review session” and compared to public schools this is substantial compared to their 6 weeks giving more time to learn.
Strengthens the Connection with the Families
Family and school are the two most integral parts of a child's life, and one should never take precedent over the other. With the current school system, it is harder than ever for parents to keep connected with their child's education. Year round school makes this connection easier, either by giving parents longer break periods through out the year to talk and connect with teachers, or by giving teachers the chance to organize and seek out the parents of students who need help (Dessoff). One facet of year round education are the constant breaks (Dessoff). Parents can use these breaks to organize help for their children through the school. Kids also need someone there watching them, holding them responsible. Year round school helps with this by decreasing the amount of time where students would find time to be irresponsible. It is shown that summer has the greatest increase in child obesity, due to the fact that kids don't eat healthy, as no one is making them (St Gerard). By cutting down summer break, kids will have a more healthy balance throughout the year. Finally, year round school helps out low income families more than anyone else (St, Gerard). Low income families would have the least chance to keep kids educated during the summer, therefore a year round school drastically helps kids retain knowledge. Year round school does so much for families, through connecting parents and teachers, helping kids stay responsible, or through appealing to lower incomes.
Prepare Kids for the Future
Work Cited
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