The Effectiveness Of Year-Round Education
iSearch Policy Research:
The Effectiveness of Year-Round Education
In 1904, the first year-round school in the U.S. was opened in Bluffton, Indiana for the purposes of increasing school building capacity and student achievement (Glines, 1995). Over the course of the 106 years since, the issue of year-round schooling and its effectiveness still provokes a strong reaction from parents, educators, and students on both sides of the aisle. The opponents of year-round education state there is negligible benefit to the year-round calendar, but the proponents cite the advantages of year-round education, stating it gives students a considerable competitive advantage over their peers. Whose opinion carries more validity? Is year-round …show more content…
Because children were often needed to assist with farming during the summer months, this calendar was established and coincided with the needs of our agrarian nation (Research Spotlight n.d.). However, times, as well as our nation, have changed immensely since the traditional school calendar was implemented and within the last decade there has been a major effort throughout our nation’s school districts to change their calendars to a year-round schedule. The “year-round” title associated with the modified calendar is actually a misnomer, as the year-round schedule is not an extension, but actually just a reorganization of the traditional school calendar (Year-Round Schooling 2004). Palmer and Bemis (1999) state that year-round schools are defined as ones that “reorganize their calendar such that blocks of instruction and vacation are spread throughout the year to make learning more continuous. Such programs do not add instructional days to those required of students, but simply reallocate the approximately 180 school …show more content…
Although the opponents of the YRE calendar cite their reasons for their viewpoints, many of their opinions seem unfounded or ineffective when looking at empirical data comparing the traditional vs. YRE calendars. In the continuation of my research, I will be looking for more recent reports of information in regards to the effects of YRE calendars, and I will be looking to see how the trends of schools implementing the YRE calendar continues now that the President and Education Secretary have both endorsed the ideas. Additionally, my further research will look for ways this policy may advance itself, including but not limited to, increasing the hours in a school day, dramatically increasing the number of days schools are in session, or even opening schools for remedial sessions on Saturdays, a recent proposal by the Education Secretary. It is I my opinion that it will take a mix of different strategies to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of our education system, and year-round education is just one stepping stone of
The Effectiveness of Year-Round Education
In 1904, the first year-round school in the U.S. was opened in Bluffton, Indiana for the purposes of increasing school building capacity and student achievement (Glines, 1995). Over the course of the 106 years since, the issue of year-round schooling and its effectiveness still provokes a strong reaction from parents, educators, and students on both sides of the aisle. The opponents of year-round education state there is negligible benefit to the year-round calendar, but the proponents cite the advantages of year-round education, stating it gives students a considerable competitive advantage over their peers. Whose opinion carries more validity? Is year-round …show more content…
Because children were often needed to assist with farming during the summer months, this calendar was established and coincided with the needs of our agrarian nation (Research Spotlight n.d.). However, times, as well as our nation, have changed immensely since the traditional school calendar was implemented and within the last decade there has been a major effort throughout our nation’s school districts to change their calendars to a year-round schedule. The “year-round” title associated with the modified calendar is actually a misnomer, as the year-round schedule is not an extension, but actually just a reorganization of the traditional school calendar (Year-Round Schooling 2004). Palmer and Bemis (1999) state that year-round schools are defined as ones that “reorganize their calendar such that blocks of instruction and vacation are spread throughout the year to make learning more continuous. Such programs do not add instructional days to those required of students, but simply reallocate the approximately 180 school …show more content…
Although the opponents of the YRE calendar cite their reasons for their viewpoints, many of their opinions seem unfounded or ineffective when looking at empirical data comparing the traditional vs. YRE calendars. In the continuation of my research, I will be looking for more recent reports of information in regards to the effects of YRE calendars, and I will be looking to see how the trends of schools implementing the YRE calendar continues now that the President and Education Secretary have both endorsed the ideas. Additionally, my further research will look for ways this policy may advance itself, including but not limited to, increasing the hours in a school day, dramatically increasing the number of days schools are in session, or even opening schools for remedial sessions on Saturdays, a recent proposal by the Education Secretary. It is I my opinion that it will take a mix of different strategies to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of our education system, and year-round education is just one stepping stone of