They’re back. Is it too soon or too late to go back to school?
The children are back in school across metro Atlanta today. New shoes. New teachers. New bedtimes. (At least for mine, whose bedtimes crept dangerously close to 11 on many nights.)
Relief or regret?
Of course, we are in the midst of a heatwave on the first day of school, making me wonder again about the wisdom of starting in early August. My system joins the early starters next year with an Aug. 3 start date, which will result in a 9-week summer break.
Although the 3,000-plus year-round schools in this country follow varied schedules, a lot of them opt for a six-week abbreviated summer and shorter breaks throughout the rest of the year. Combined, year-round schools serve 2.3 million students, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education.
The traditional calendar is often preferred by parents who have the time and money to create enriching summers for their children, enrolling them in space camps and escorting them to museums. But parents with fewer resources are often forced to leave their kids home alone in front of the television.
“In modern American families, the large majority of kids go home to single families or households where both parents work outside the home, so the traditional notion of summer vacation doesn’t really map onto their experience, ” says Harris Cooper, a Duke University professor who leads the national research on year-round schools.
Cooper’s research is cited both by people in favor of and opposed to year-round schools. That’s because he’s found only a slight improvement in academics from the change, except among low-income and struggling students. For them, Cooper says the academic gains appear more significant.
Year-round schools should be decided on a system-by-system basis. Affluent suburban districts — with high student achievement — should be perfectly free to keep or even lengthen their summer breaks, if that’s what parents prefer.
Year-round schools seem an ideal fit for districts with large numbers of children who don’t speak English and go home to families where they don’t have opportunities to practice their English during the summer. The schedule may also help impoverished rural counties where the summer camp pickings are few, and children lack meaningful activities.
Teachers in those low-income communities can testify to Cooper’s finding that students on average lose one month of learning over the summer break. Students in year-round schools lose only about half that much, says Cooper.
What do you all think? And can someone turn up the AC?
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51 comments Add your comment
EJ
August 10th, 2009
11:15 am
This might not be the most policitally correct thing to say, but I think athletics have as much of an impact on a school schedule as academics do– particularly in places where football rules as it does in the south.
With year-round school for high schools, sports schedules would need to be altered. Kids can’t play football in the middle of the summer do to heat. Baseball season has to end early enough in the year so kids can try to get drafted in early June or enroll in summer school with their future colleges. Winter break’s can’t be long or the basketball team will miss court time (not that they won’t just add more holidy tournaments).
Athletics do a lot for moral on campus and bring a lot of press to the schools. The booster clubs will be rather vocal if someone where to put them too far down on the priority list.
RT
August 10th, 2009
11:27 am
Too soon. Everything should fit in a nice tight little package between Labor day and Memorial Day. Make the school day an hour longer for gosh sakes. 2:30pm release time?? Who get’s off work at 2:30 to pick up their kids? The way the day is structured should be maximized before talk of extending the school year is approached.
This lost learning stuff during the summer is nonsense. If anything, my kids gain in intelligence. I guess it depends on the parents though.
Summer is essentially over now. Vacation season is essentially over.
It would be nice if winter came to an end 40 days early like summer does.
Reality 2
August 10th, 2009
11:37 am
We should be moving to a year around school. A part of the problem with school schedule is that everyone seems to be so concerned about keeping everything balanced – ever grading period has to be the same length, for example. Let’s start the school in the first of September and end the first ter before Christmas – however many weeks there are. Then start the new term in the first of January and go through March. Have a short break, and then the last term can go from mid-March through mid-June. That will still give kids 6 weeks or so for the summer break, and that’s long enough.
Rick
August 10th, 2009
11:58 am
It not to soon. Here in Henry County we have been back a week aready so no crying out there for starting today.
southern hope
August 10th, 2009
11:59 am
One thing I don’t like about this discussion is that if you’re in favor of a regular summer (i.e. memorial day to labor day), you’re seen as sort of a “oh, of course you like it…you have money & can do something with your kids” but I guess I don’t understand how its easier for a poor person to schedule care for three weeks in the winter rather than three weeks in the summer.
I’ll also note that my kids attend an in-town public school with a fairly wide diversity of incomes & there wasn’t a single parent there this morning who wasn’t mad about the early start.
So I guess I don’t get who is for it.
Linda
August 10th, 2009
12:07 pm
I don’t understand why the school year was ever changed to begin with. I fully believe that school should not end until just after Memorial Day and should not start back up until after Labor Day. August is the hottest month of the year in Georiga and I hate to think of those kids riding from school in an unairconditioned bus. Summer isn’t over until mid-September, so let’s let them have a little more time to enjoy it. The pools don’t close and the lake level doesn’t get dropped by the Corps of Engineers until after Labor Day…
And with the horrible traffic that occurs during the school year, I want to stretch out lighter traffic as long as possible.
Cere
August 10th, 2009
12:18 pm
Summer activities are so important to learning. I could go for year-round school – as long as it was optional. Say we offered 3 – 3-week sessions of summer school – countywide. Kids could sign up for swimming and outdoor camp or computer camp or reading/writing seminar or camp in the mountains — funded by our tax dollars. I would pay for it – to give the opportunity to attend sleep away camp for every child. It’s cheaper than keeping them in school, I’m sure – and it teaches so many important life skills and lessons.
Really — does summer school have to be a replica of the rest of the year?
maybe i will home school
August 10th, 2009
12:32 pm
i believe 12 weeks off at summer is too long. there is some brain drain no matter how many camps you enroll your child in. Maybe we should take sports & other extra curricular activities out of the shcools and let the communities and churches and other private organizations dot hem. This should save Loads of budget money. Arent’ they there to LEARN anyway?
There is a great argument in favor of increasing the school year and school day in Malcolm Gladwells book – “Outliers”. a must read chapter. IT explains why the Asian kids are so much better at math than the US.
Allen
August 10th, 2009
12:35 pm
Let’s see, it’s generally still very hot in early through mid-August (certainly more so than in early June), school systems are hurting for money, air conditioning is expensive to run and causes power companies to pump even more smog into our Code Orange air . . .
Yep, makes perfect sense
momtoAlex&Max
August 10th, 2009
12:38 pm
I find it mildly offensive that people would thing that I opposse year round school because I can afford to send my kids to camp over the summer.
For the record: year round school DOES NOT include more school days. IT DOES NOT. Kids go to school for 9 weeks and then get off for 3 weeks. How is it ANY different for a woring parent to find child care for 6 weeks during the summer rather than 3 weeks in October, December, and April? I should think that in fact, it may be HARDER.
I am ALL for a longer summer. Kids need the break, and frankly so do I.
Alvin
August 10th, 2009
12:39 pm
The average temperature from early August through mid-September is within 3 degrees of being identical. Starting after Labor Day would be no cooler, save systems no more money, and would just mean school lets out in mid-June instead of before Memorial Day. Until we see a sensible paradigm shift towards year-round school from the federal and state levels, this madness will continue. Outside of agrarian communities, a three-month summer break makes no sense in 2009.
catlady
August 10th, 2009
12:43 pm
SACS accreditation requirements would put the kabosh on unequal semesters. I laugh at the idea of “12 week summers”. Sports rules all.
Seen it all
August 10th, 2009
1:12 pm
Folks, the only people crying over “longer summers” and “start school after Labor Day” are the rich people with money who want to take vacations in July and August. MOST parents I know can’t wait for school to start in August. These same parents don’t have oodles of money to take family trips to Cancun, Puerto Rico, Tampa Beach in August anyway. Only a loud minority of middle class, “well-to-do” suburbanites (like Mo) really care that much about “later school start dates” (just like that HANDFUL of stay-at-home “moms” in East Cobb).
Again- I think that this, like the cellphone issue, is more an control issue than anything else.
Claire
August 10th, 2009
1:17 pm
A full summer is June, July & August. You seriously don’t think nine months, seven hours per day is not enough schooling per year? Once again the general public depends on the government to teach their children everything. My kids read all summer, we brush up on math skills…and we enjoy summer. If parents would participate in their children’s education process, there wouldn’t be a month of “catching up” every year. And to the above venter who thinks starting in September won’t save money, read about the Murray County school system saving over $70,000 this year in bus fuel alone by starting after Sept. 1. Imagine the savings in counties the size of Fulton or Cobb.
Clarence
August 10th, 2009
1:29 pm
Not only should we move to year-round-school, but we should increase from 180 to 200 days. But I guess since that isn’t how it was “when I was a kid and I learned lots” we’ll just continue to slide in terms of international achievement.
Voice of Reason#1
August 10th, 2009
1:34 pm
As POOR as GA rates in education, these Georgia kiddies need to be in school all-year long.
Rhonda Clemons
August 10th, 2009
1:38 pm
I think that the school year starts back too soon. I think the students shouldn’t have to go back until after Labor Day. The summer break is to short and on top of that they send all this work home for them to complete, which is good so that they will remember what was learned and what’s to come but the parents still have to work and it’s really for us to do.
Reality 2
August 10th, 2009
2:13 pm
I’m not necessarily opposed to increasing the school days, but 10 or even 30 more days of “nothing” will still be nothing. We need to improve what happens in each of the school days first.
Content ftw!
August 10th, 2009
3:02 pm
I have attended schools on both traditional schedules and on year round schedules. But really, It’s not about the length of the school year so much as the content. Part of the issues children face with school is getting bombarded with a variety of subjects, the expectation to digest those subjects (homework) and then demonstrate their proficiency the following day (tests). Depending on the cirriculum, your kids are trying to digest multiple concepts and theories from 5 to 7 subjects into their heads daily. This in addition to their chores and eating dinner with the family. And usually they haven’t recieved enough instruction during class to do their assignment because of some distraction eating up the hour their teacher had dedicated to explain it.
Because of this, I found that learning was easier on a year round schedule, particularly ones that had divided the classes into 2 to 3 subjects per day. Even with distractions, the teacher had plenty of time to review the previous assignment, answer questions and go over the next assignment. The only caveat to a year round schedule is that your kids get 2 to 3 weeks off every 3 months… and year round school schedules are usually staggered so not all the kids are off at the same time (excluding the week of x-mas). This really isn’t so bad for a working parent to deal with, and if some is affluent enough to take their kids on trips abroad, the schedule is relaxed enough that the kids can play hookey for a few days and catch up when they get back.
Old School
August 10th, 2009
3:28 pm
I personally would hate to see the Governors Honors Program (6 weeks in the summer for gifted and talented students) be cut or severely curtailed due to year-round school.
Teacher, Too
August 10th, 2009
4:19 pm
My comment seems to have been used as a snack.
motherjanegoose
August 10th, 2009
4:27 pm
@seen it all..we are not rich folks but I would have loved to go with the Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Currently, this does not matter as I have one who is a Senior and one in professional school.
David Granger
August 10th, 2009
5:42 pm
School should take in the Tuesday after Labor Day, and end the Friday before Memorial Day.
ScienceTeacher671
August 10th, 2009
5:58 pm
Kind of funny – the low income and struggling students would benefit most from a longer school year, and they are usually also the ones who “make public schools look bad” by pulling down the school’s average scores and causing schools to fail AYP…
But we’re also least likely to make any meaningful changes that would help these students.
Preacher
August 10th, 2009
6:01 pm
David Granger is right – it’s written in the Holy Scripture somewhere that a school year must start after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day. Let me see if I can find the reference…
parent and teacher
August 10th, 2009
6:48 pm
As a parent of high schoolers who were on a 4 x 4 block, I liked starting school early enough so that they could finish first semester before Christmas. That being said, we could still start a little later and do that if we went the M, T, W before Thanksgiving and up to the 24th, depending on when it falls. The town where I grew up had half days on both the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the day we started Christmas break – which was on the 24th many times.
As a teacher, I don’t really care – I work the same number of days either way.
As a realist, it is HOT today, and I can’t imagine what we’re spending on air conditioning. However, I also think the last thing some kids need is LESS schooling.
Miss Brooks
August 10th, 2009
7:45 pm
What we need is to start the day after Labor Day, and finish around the 15th of June. Cancel the February break if needs be. Finally, what we desperately need is a REAL teachers’ union.
lily
August 10th, 2009
8:55 pm
I also agree with David. Summer does not end in the middle of August. I also feel it is the content of studies and with a few more summer days maybe the kids would be more ready to return and begin studying.
Sharon
August 10th, 2009
9:00 pm
School should be all year long….
Leigh
August 10th, 2009
9:10 pm
Let them be little a little longer. Sweet Summer!
Son of A Home School Dropout
August 10th, 2009
9:16 pm
I really like what Fannin County did. They changed their laws to say that a certain number of hours, not days, is required per school year. It really should be a local (meaning county) and not state issue.
I did have an opportunity to speak with a few business owners in Panama City this year and they all pretty much said that August is dead down there now so it’s not just Ga. going back early.
Jeff
August 10th, 2009
9:24 pm
Way Too Soon! Too many Holidays, should start after labor day like it used to be.
lilytoo
August 10th, 2009
9:24 pm
Good point made earlier about the dame students that benefit from year round school are also the ones that bring the schools scores down. Here’s an idea, summer school for the low achievers! Those students that are below grade level or score poorly on tests should be required or at least be offered a chance to attend summer school. Back in the ’60’s and 70’s, students that ad really low skills in reading, math, and writing had to go to summer school. They got extra attention and those students who had jobs or went away on long trips had a good 3 months to get it done. School starts way too early. Another problem w/ year long schools is that the days before a break are chaotic as the kids get so excited for the break. Then, it takes another week to reel ‘em back in when they return. Another problem is that (at my daughter’s school) the absenteeism rate soars the day before a break. Even when many breaks are given throughout the year, parents still go on vacations the day before the actual break- It’s insane, and jeopardizes our school meeting AYP every year. One final thing, our economy suffers big time by a shorter summer. Many tourists’ dollars are lost by the early back to school start dates.
Gwinnett Parent
August 10th, 2009
9:27 pm
The summer is a time for the kids to learn without a teacher that is stretched between 20 students, a one size fits all curriculum, and no child left behind. My first grader spent the summer reading books on History and Science, worked on writing, took music lessons, and practiced math problems. She still had time to go on a real vacation and be a kid. No brain drain here.
The school year should begin after Labor day and continue until the 1st week of June. Every year we lose an athlete to heat exhaustion and we are spending too much to cool our schools in August. Also, the price of gas is traditionally more expensive between the months of May and September. The oil speculators anticipate more demand during this period. I wonder how much we could save on energy costs alone.
Rosie
August 10th, 2009
9:49 pm
With our current budget crunch, why aren’t we considering starting school in early September. September has a few hot days, but we would pay less in utilities if we had fewer hot days. By starting in early August our schools are using extreme amounts of air conditioning in both August and September. A September start date would decrease the number of 100 degree days our schools’ air conditioning would run. May and June have warm days, but not HOT days. Just an idea help with current budget woes.
Mom
August 10th, 2009
10:11 pm
What’s wrong with school starting back after Labor day and getting out around Memorial day and having less teacher work days and planning days to meet the required attending days for a student. Every time you turn around the children are out for a day or two here and there. This is hard to find something for the children to do on these days or find someone to keep them. When they are out during the full three months in the summer, children have the chance to visit family and friends. How nice is it for a child to visit a grandparent, the other parent, and cousins out of state for a week or two each. Children are CHILDREN and they need the influence of all family now more then ever. The world is moving to fast we are getting away from what is life with values for what we think we need to make us more powerfull and sucessfull.
What is wrong with the citizens of the United States that are 35-65 and was out for three months from school each summer.
Rob
August 10th, 2009
10:37 pm
What moron came up with the idea of starting school in early August When it’s so HOT?
I agree with longer school days where you don’t have to worry about child care for a couple of
hours every day. We need to use some common sense and save alot of cent$
Calendardude
August 10th, 2009
10:52 pm
Maureen, I have worked for several years on the calendar committee in the school district that you discuss in your blog header. First of all, the summer will be 9 weeks… not 7. Second, we did a fairly extensive survey of parents in our diverse district. The strongest complaints came from families with two parents working. The strongest support came from families with a stay at home parent. There were also substantial concerns brought up by our city Rec Department about being able to provide childcare for lower income families during the breaks since college students are all back at campus and high school students are too young to legally care for other children.
We also did our own “mini study” and looked at larger, validated research (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/yearrnd.htm) on the effectiveness of year around school on achievement. The result…. no gains! Lower achieving students showed no gains either on either our own study or on the larger, validated study.
There are a lot of myths that surround year around school. The folks who support it, National Association for Year Around Education (NAYRE) are a nonprofit, but they provide consultants and other materials (for a substantial fee) to systems trying to move toward year around schooling. They also shoot around a lot of “white papers”… authored by none other than NAYRE.
Reality 2
August 11th, 2009
5:38 am
It’s interesting so many people list the financial saving as the reason for opening school after Labor Day. FInancially, it seems to make no sense to keep a facility sit idle for 9 weeks, yet keep building new ones because of over crowded schools. A typical business will try to maximize the facility use. We should be using the facility all the time instead if we are concerned about the almighty dollars by rotating students’ schedules.
June
August 11th, 2009
8:59 am
As a kid, I loved the long lazy days of summer–wading in the creek, reading books, playing baseball with the neighbor kids. I never had to be entertained. Life was an adventure!
Juniemae
Zachs Mom
August 11th, 2009
11:07 am
I wish I had the grandparents to send my son to for a couple of weeks in the summer but they all have full time jobs! I wish that I could send him to sleep away camp but I needed that money to pay the rent since my husband took a 20% pay cut to keep his job. I wish that I could have sent him to various summer day camps but the seem to only run from 9am till 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I have to work from 5am-5pm.
At least if he was in school learning something, he would have other kids to socialize with, supervision and I would not come ome everyday to “I BOARD” or “Can you please stay home with me tomorrow?” No…not if you want to eat this week.
Vivian
August 11th, 2009
11:57 am
It is far too expensive to run school systems in the Summer months. We are cutting bus stops, but not looking at the obvious and safe solution. Why not look at Murray County. Add one hour on the day, cut the calendar from 180 to 160 days. The savings for large districts would be huge. Local districts…stop whining and using our children as guinea pigs in these stupid experiments. Start after Labor Day and end at Memorial Day. For those that want to continue year round day care…so sorry, we can’t afford it anymore.
What is right for kids?
August 11th, 2009
3:20 pm
Mom to Alex & Max,
I don’t think that anyone mentioned you at all when they spoke of parents who can send their children to summer camp.
That is beside the point.
The point that should be in the backs of all of our minds is “What is right for kids?” Not the parents, not the grandparents, not the teachers. What is right for kids???
Yes, we all grew up with Labor Day to Memorial Day, but we also grew up with led paint and no car seats. We know that some things are no longer considered good for us.
So, I ask again: What is right for kids?
JJones
August 11th, 2009
3:21 pm
Zacks mom, your husband taking a 20% pay cut did you have money to buy shorts & clothes for your child to start school in 90 degree weather. Well my husband and myself have both lost our jobs in the past 4 months and with a fourteen year old, growing so fast that he could not wear shorts to school that is an appropriate lenght so new one had to be purchase for now. His school is so hot through-out hot days they cannot wear jeans, and be comfortable to learn. So starting later like September would be somewhat cooler but the lenght of high temperature will be less and a fewer weeks for him and others. So don’t think cause a parent would like their child home is cause someone has money of no money. Camps or no camps. Weather to me is the main issue. Kids out running a mile in 90 degree weather at 1:30 in the afternoon and then going to 2 more classes hot and sticky and being uncomfortable, he and others are really learning alot.
LT
August 11th, 2009
3:45 pm
I rather like the new schedule more counties are going to. Having that extra week in the fall and winter is nice. Remember when after Christmas, the next big holiday was spring break. That was the longest 3 months of my childhood. Now kids get off a week right in the middle of that long period. Day cares are conforming to the schedules, so there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of places for your kids during the breaks if you have to work. I think we could use to shorten summer by another week or two (at the beginning, not the end when it’s so hot). Think of the additional material that teachers could cover with two more weeks in every school year. Maybe then we could get ahead in education in this country!!
Zachs Mom
August 11th, 2009
4:44 pm
J Jones–My son is 14 and is wearing the same Walmart shorts and tee shirts that he wears every year. I would love to be able to stay home with my child…except that we wouldn’t have one and living in a carboard box is not my idea of a good exchange. Eating is another activity that we enjoy on a regular basis…water…electricty. All of which we wouldn’t have if I didn’t work. I would love to be a SAHM but it didn’t work out that way.
No profession has 15+ weeks of vacation a year. Older kids are in for a rude awakening when they get to the real world. The younger people where I work are amazed that you don’t get a weeks vacation every 9 weeks or mental health ( teacher work days) days every few month. Having longer school years might give schools more opportunity to offer enrichment courses, business courses or trade classes.
JJones
August 11th, 2009
5:10 pm
Enrichment courses, business courses or trade classes I think cost money. What do the possible furlough teachers of Georgia think of this?
Tiffany
August 11th, 2009
5:21 pm
I live in Haralson county and my second and fourth graders are on the bus for a hour and a half every morning and afternoon. Have you ever rode a school bus? They’re HOT. My girls comes home every day wet from sweating and their clothes of soaking wet. People drive one week from 2:30-4:00 no air and just crack your window 2″ see how you feel.(just remember the stops of sitting still too). I think this happens in many rural areas all around Georgia.
Courtney
August 13th, 2009
6:18 pm
You guys think year-round school is a good idea, but you’d think differently if you were the child TAKING the year-round school.
jordan
September 29th, 2009
11:39 am
i think r kids should not back until Labor day . because the kids who go back after Labor Day get a higher education.
stephenie meyer
September 29th, 2009
11:48 am
I believe that kids should not go back to school until after Labor Day because kids who go back after Labor day get more effective scores.