ED 370 160 AUTHOR Rodgers, Linda TITLE Elementary Public ...

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EA 025 621

Rodgers, Linda

The Pros and Cons of Year-Round Education at the

Elementary Public School Level.

Jul 93

109p.; Master of Early Childhood Education Project,

California State University-Long Beach. Tables on

pages 23 and 24 are too light to reproduce

adequately.

Dissertations/Theses

Undetermined (040)

MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.

Elementary Education; *Extended School Year; *Public

Schools; Quarter System; *School Organization;

*School Restructuring; *School Schedules; Trimester

System; *Year Round Schools

ABSTRACT

Based on a review of the literature, this paper

objectively examines the key issues surrounding the implementation of

year-round education (YRE) at the elementary level in public schools.

Following the introduction, statement of the problem, and

definitions, the fourth section provides a history of year-round

education in the United States. The fifth section describes various

forms of YRE calendar plans. The sixth section discusses the key

policy issues, which include the following: the viewpoints of

parents, teachers, students, community, and administration and

personnel; conflicts with family lifestyles; overcrowding; test

scores; maintenance and operation costs; intersessions; educational

benefits; opportunities for additional salary increases; discipline;

absenteeism; extracurricular activities; and planning a year-round

calendar. The majority of research indicates that YRE: (1) does not

conclusively result in increased academic achievement; (2) offers a

moderate savings in building and maintenance costs, but an increase

in personnel salaries and cooling costs; and (3) is gaining general

acceptance among parents whose children attend year-round schools,

but is strongly opposed by some parents and community members.

Difficulties center around assessment and implementation. The program

restructures the traditional family's schedules and lifestyles and

the school infrastructure, and may not be appropriate for rural

areas. Two figures are included. (LMI)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.

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IE

U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS

MATERIkL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

Office of Educate:mai Resna, h and irnpr0vernen1

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CE NI E R (ERIC)

document has been fermoduced as

INs

rebenied Iron, the Dersnn or organuabOn

OrKpnannga

0 Nfino, Changes have been made tO rprove

reOrOductIon beefily

Ponts of we., or Optmons :dated

this deco-

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

ment dO not neCeslainty represent ottiClal

OE RI postfion of pohcy

THE PROS AND CONS OF YEAR-ROUND EDUCATION

AT THE ELEMENTARY PUBLIC SCHOOL LEVEL

A ,laster's Project

Presented to

Dr. Mary Jo Lass

California State University, Long Beach

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Early Childhood Education

by

Linda Rodgers

July 1993

gr,

2

MT COPY AVAILABLE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I .

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

XI.

INTRODUCTION

1

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

3

DEFINITIONS

4

HISTORY OF YEAR-ROUND EDUCATION

11

TYPES OF YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMS

16

PRESENTATION OF KEY POLICY ISSUES

25

Parent Viewpoint

25

Conflicts With Family Lifestyles

32

Teacher Viewpoint

36

Student Viewpoint

43

Administration and Personnel Viewpoint

47

Community Viewpoint

53

Overcrowding

56

Test Scores

60

Maintenance and Operational Costs

65

Intersessions

70

Educational Benefits

72

Opportunities For Additional Salary Increases

78

Discipline

80

Absenteeism

82

Extra-Curricular Activities

83

Planning a Year-Round Calendar

88

SYNTHESIS

90

ANALYSIS

91

CONCLUSIONS

94

RECOMMENDATIONS

96

REFERENCES

98

INTRODUCTION

The traditional calendar used by most American schools

originatd from the agrarian society we once were.

that era,

During

children were needed in the summer to tend crops,

and that calendar of operation made good sense.

Now, in our

changing society, the format of this agrarian calendar has

come into question.

Some are saying that the calendar is

obsolete, and it makes no sense to continue the tradition.

Change in the school year has been initiated for many

different reasons; from improvement of instruction to relief

from overcrowding.

Today, there is a rapid increase in the

number of districts participating in the year-round plan.

At the forefront, are the Western states, who are in the

midst of a rapid population growth.

Consequently, they.ate

experiencing stress on already existing facilities.

Overcrowded schools is the most prevalent reason communities

are turning to year-round education.

The idea for moving to year-round education has come

from many different sources.

Some communities react

adversely to the idea of students having little or nothing

to do during the summer months.

They want the schools to

step in and provide programs and activities.

Some taxpayers

see the empty school buildings in the summer as a waste of

efficiency.

Other advocates see the lengthy summer break as

an opportunity for children to forget what they have already

learned.

As a result, teachers waste valuable class time

reviewing already taught material.

4

2

Year-round schools are not new in the U.S. or in other

countries.

In the nineteenth century a number of U.S.

school districts operated throughout the year.

calendars were also used early in this century.

Year-round

The number

of year-round schools has varied throughout the last sixty

years in accordance with economic conditions and enrollment

changes (Young and Berger, 1983), peaking in 1976 when there

were 539 such schools in 28 states (Mussatti, 1981; Young

and Berger, 1983).

Pros and cons of year-round education programs center

around financial, social, and academic concerns.

Advocates

see benefits for pupils of all abilities, potential for

uplifting the teaching profession, and a fiscal advantage to

the taxpayer.

But these merits are questioned by others who

claim that research evidence is sparse and inconclusive.

Either way, acceptance and implementation of year-round

programs currently seems to be on the rise; therefore,

requiring a closer look.

This Master's Project will present an objective

1

examination of the critical key issues surrounding the

implementation of year-round programs.

It will not attempt

to reach a conclusion; but only to prEsent the reader with

an informative presentation as to the practicality and

possibilities of year-round education.

This paper will be

structured in the following format: I.)1ntroduction;

II.)Statement of the Problem; III.)Definil:ion of Key Terms;

IV.)The History of Year-Round Education; V.)Types of

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