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Year-round school calendars
What do you think about year-round schools situation?
Year Round Schools
I am totally in favor of all schools being year round. It seems as if we have forgotten that the three month summer vacation was started when we were an agrarian society and the children were needed to work in the fields during the summer. I don't see my neighborhood children picking beans and corn and helping with any crops!
We have an opportunity to make the school year more fluid and intellectually beneficial by having several smaller breaks to refresh and revitalize rather then one large break where children forget and need to review each fall just to get back where they were in June.
Our children in the US need more time in school, not less, and more time working on the sciences and math if were are to compete effectively in this global economy.
My husband suggests that we have a tax levied on any family that wants to stay in a traditional school since these are schools that are not being used up to their full potential. I think this would probably solve the traditional versus year round issue very quickly. However, an understanding of how schools got on this calendar orignally and why it is no longer necessary should be reason enough to change.
I am a huge fan of
I am a huge fan of year-round schools. I also understand that they simply do not work for some families. If the issue is to be revisited, so be it. For goodness sake, though don't disrupt the coming school year. I can't imagine the turmoil it would cause myself and several other families, not to mention the new staff being hired, to have the schedule change at the last minute. Why do the commissioners wait until now? These plans have been going around for months now. I have tried to be supportive, but this is beyond ridiculous! Make a plan, vote on it and stick to it!
Year Round Schools are GREAT
I a so tired of hearing about how horrible year round schools are for everyone. We LOVE having the year round school system at North Forest Pines. It gives our child time home throughout the year, not just during summer. He retains much more information and it is much easier for us to keep his learning going during shorter breaks. We have the opportunity to take family vacations at times when traditional schools are in session which saves money - plus we can visit family more than just once or twice a year. I understand that it may be hard for families that are on traditional and year round schedules, but there are several vacations that are combined - plus several tracks have summer vacations that would coincide with the traditional schools. I think that Wake School Board has done a terrific job introducing and continuing year round schooling in the area. I feel that the N&O has spent way too much print on how unhappy parents are with year round - when there are many families that are totally happy with the situation. Consider us one happy year-round family!
Year Round Schools
I agree with you 100%. I do not have children right now but I can tell you when I do have children that are of the age to go to school I will be looking for a year round school system. I like the idea of my children going the way of the year round much better then a traditional school. First they are more apt to remember what they have learned because of shorter breaks, you can go on vacation and not just during "summer vacation" and the kids don't get bored with 3 months of school off instead they get nice short little breaks and then before they really have a chance to get really bored (or what they consider bored) they are back at school. I have also heard people talking about child care during the weeks the children are out of school but just like the summertime when parents work they have to find childcare and most schools now have some kind of school programs for children while their parents are at work. I guess I just don't understand why the negative feedback from the Traditional school lovers, all I've heard is they hate it but I have't heard any reasons why.
Where's Vena?
This is truly not the right place for this question, so I apologize. I asked the Wake County Public School System, but they ignored me.
For those of you familiar with Vena Wilburn Elementary School on Marsh Creek Road, has anyone else noticed that it's now just "Wilburn Elementary?" What happened to the "Vena" part of the name that was prevalent when I was a student there in the early '70's?
Did her will expire? How ironic would that be?
All thoughts welcome.
more and more, it seems that the few who adamantly object to year-round seem to be the ones getting all the headlines.
from most of the blogs i've seen, if it were put to a vote, the results might be able to be used to suggest that the anti's Build A Bridge, so they can Get Over It and move on.
plusaf
Northwest Raleigh
27613
Year Round Schools
I definately think that new schools need to continue to be opened as year-round. In addition to being able to house more students, it is apparently what most families want. According to WCPSS, only 2329 applications for transfers from year-round were received and they were able to place all of those, but 3773 applications for transfers to year-round were received. They were not even able to place 50% of those applicants - the over 1800 applicants thet were turned down could fill 2 or 3 new schools! By the way, if they created 2329 openings in year-round schools by granting transfers to 100% of those who requested them, shouldn't they have been able to place 2329 year-round applicants into those vacant spots instead of the less that 1800 they did????
The media tends to pick up on the opinions of the few very vocal people who do not want their children to attend year-round school and portray that the community is opposed to mandatory year-round, but the numbers present a different picture.
the facts on year-round
First, I am not against year round schools. I do think they should be a choice. I am an educator and parent, I think there are many misconceptions on both sides of the argument.
The cost savings of operating on a year round schedule are not necessarily true. The heating, cooling, electrical, etc. are higher for YR schools. Many staff in traditional schools must be 12 month employees rather than 10 - such as specialists, elective teachers, etc. Their salaries are higher costs.
Another issue with YR schools is the teacher burnout. As I mentioned, many positions become 12 month. I know many people feel that teachers take a long vacation each summer, but that is not true. They are working (for free), taking classes, and more. They cannot do these things in the working months. Teachers cannot even take vacation without pay deductions during the school year. Teachers also re-charge mentally. This is incredibly important. More teachers are leaving the profession every year and this will only push more out of teaching. Teaching is one of the most mentally draining jobs there is. Nobody wants unprepared or unstable teachers in the classroom.
High Schools cannot go on a multi-track schedule. They may change calendars, but it is impossible to have teachers for every subject available for every track. This is already a problem in YR middle schools. Spanish or a certain math class is only availalbe on certain tracks. This doesn't provide equal education to all.
WCPSS's statistics on who applied for traditional schools is very misleading. I used to think the same way when I heard only so many applied. The problem is that applications are not for the traditional calendar school of choice. It is pre-determined. Many famlilies would prefer traditional, but not at a school 15 miles away so they don't apply. My question is with so many YR schools that are not at capacity, why are any applications for YR turned down?
Everyone, please do the research. I don't think many families are completely against YR schools. They are against they way WCPSS disregards parental input in their plan to have no community schools.
What's the fuss?
I have a daughter who will be in second grade next year and currently attends a traditional elementary school. I simply cannot understand what it is about year-round schedules that gets some people so wrapped around the axle. Years ago, when the idea was new and daycares had not yet adapted by offering compatible programs, the resistance made sense. But this is no longer the case. The year-round schedule is a clever way to fill schools to 125% of capacity without the cost of trailers or the negative effects of overcrowding. With our school enrollment skyrocketing with no end in sight, this is no small consideration. So why are people so afraid? It can't be that it disrupts traditional family vacations. VERY few people are in a position to go on vacation for more than three weeks, and all four tracks track out at SOME point during the summer, and off-season vacations are sometimes even better (and cheaper). And does anybody remember how hard it was to get back into the swing of things after three months of down time?
year round schools
I think the year round schools are a good idea