Community Chat

[Qwackertoo]

We've never done it. But my Mother who taught first grade did and she actually enjoyed it and the kids, from higher grades, their teachers didn't have that re-teaching the first few weeks to review from the previous year wasted . . . 3 weeks off every 9 weeks I believe the schedule was, nice break, not too long too short . . . the teachers were not sick as much nor were the kids so absenteeism went down. It did NOT last. Maybe 3 years at most. I guess it was a daycare / after school care nightmare for parents who both worked or single parents as the care facilities hadn't had time to adapt to the new schedule and were probably resistant to do so . . . so it just didn't work out. This was a VERY LARGE school district.

I think it would be better. Although the after school care needs more time to adapt for the full days that would come for those who need some sort of care those 3 off weeks.

Change is not easy . . .

I'm curious to see how it works this year with the elementary school sharing the buses with the middle & high school. Elementary goes in early gets out early. Middle & high go in late get out later. School district running out of money for enough buses for all so they are having to share. I guess fewer buses, less maintenance . . . perhaps . . . , fewer bus drivers working longer hours running two routes . . . but what about weather days when they ALL get dismissed early due to a snow or ice storm heading our direction OR chance of tornadoes . . . OR flooding from too much rain (the buses do travel rural routes for many children so that is always a danger) . . . or school is delayed opening to all the previous stated reasons. I think it might be a big ole mess!!! Good luck to the new superintendent whoever wins that upcoming election!

[151949]

Since many kids now a days have to go to some kind of summer childcare because their Moms work what difference would it make - they may as well go to school all year.

[DREAMON]

The schools would have to be air conditioned to remain open all year. Most of the Districts in our area do not have air conditioning in all of the schools....just the newer built ones.

I worked for the School District for many years and the temp was near 100 in areas of the school on hot days. Students were constantly being sent to the nurses office and many days the District closed early which is a such an inconvenience for working parents who didn't know their children were being sent home.

I like the Summers off for students. I couldn't wait till the summer when I was a kid and the same goes for my children. I wouldn't want to take that away from them.

[spot555]

That's so sad- schools have become glorified babysitters. If most people need this for their child, then maybe they should have thought about important issues before having them. It's their responsiblity to take care of their children- not the school system & the taxpayers.

[Brooklynny]

When I was in (parochial) school, our school year began right after Labor Day and ended the third week in June. We were free for July and August, but we were never dismissed for the summer without a reading list...one from Column A, two from Column B, and we were REQUIRED to produce book reports on what we read when school reopened in September. Being a Type A student, I read all the books on the list. My mother would take me to the library weekly, I would take out the maximum of two books, read them in a week, return them the following week and take out two more until I exhausted the list. In addition, my father would buy books for me to read. I don't remember the publisher, but they were those small scale books mostly about science -- weather, astronomy/the constellations, sea shells/the ocean, etc. Summer wasn't all vacation/all the time; in fact, we couldn't afford to take "vacations" -- however, I had plenty of play time every day but had to do the work nonetheless. (Our "vacations" consisted of taking the subway to the beach at Coney Island a few days a week and during my father's two-week vacations in August, and we loved every minute of it.) All this, and English was not even my family's native language, and I wouldn't give up my childhood summers and school experience for the world. When I was 16 and eligible for what, at the time, were called "working papers," I immediately applied for them and got a summer job working as a sales girl in a local department/variety store. I did this for 2-3 summers and earned my own money for my own use. Learning is something that should never stop with the end of the school year or end with any formal schooling for that matter. Working a summer job teaches responsibility -- showing up on time every day, following instructions, doing the work expected of you, and getting paid for what you DO. No prizes, no awards, no parades. You get out of the experience what you put in. It's up to the parents to instill these values in their children; kids don't pick this up by osmosis. It's the only way to succeed in life regardless of the professional path taken in adulthood. JMHO.

[Mominohio]

On 7/11/2014 Qwackertoo said:

We've never done it. But my Mother who taught first grade did and she actually enjoyed it and the kids, from higher grades, their teachers didn't have that re-teaching the first few weeks to review from the previous year wasted . . . 3 weeks off every 9 weeks I believe the schedule was, nice break, not too long too short . . . the teachers were not sick as much nor were the kids so absenteeism went down. It did NOT last. Maybe 3 years at most. I guess it was a daycare / after school care nightmare for parents who both worked or single parents as the care facilities hadn't had time to adapt to the new schedule and were probably resistant to do so . . . so it just didn't work out. This was a VERY LARGE school district.

I think it would be better. Although the after school care needs more time to adapt for the full days that would come for those who need some sort of care those 3 off weeks.

Change is not easy . . .

I'm curious to see how it works this year with the elementary school sharing the buses with the middle & high school. Elementary goes in early gets out early. Middle & high go in late get out later. School district running out of money for enough buses for all so they are having to share. I guess fewer buses, less maintenance . . . perhaps . . . , fewer bus drivers working longer hours running two routes . . . but what about weather days when they ALL get dismissed early due to a snow or ice storm heading our direction OR chance of tornadoes . . . OR flooding from too much rain (the buses do travel rural routes for many children so that is always a danger) . . . or school is delayed opening to all the previous stated reasons. I think it might be a big ole mess!!! Good luck to the new superintendent whoever wins that upcoming election!

Qwakertoo, our school system has always done the double runs with their buses. The older kids early and the young ones on a later run. It seems to work well, but you are right about their being a quandary with unplanned early releases in emergency situations (like weather). I suppose they just have to keep an eye on approaching storms, and get moving faster.

[nlwilliams]

Yeah, keep em occupied.

[guatmum]

If they air conditioned all schools, I would be all for it. I could teach new curriculum from day 1 instead of after the first two months. We could also have more short vacations, something like 6 weeks on and 1 week off. Without closing schools, teachers faced almost empty classrooms. Without summers off now, students could take part in the regular curriculum plus other types of activities such as camping, sports, etc.

Let's face it, summer vacation began as time off for children to work on family farms when our country was mostly agricultural. It was not a "vacation" but a time to go work in the fields. Most kids were glad to get back to school and friends. Now kids and families in our country have the word "vacation" engrained in their brains and it just reinforces the idea/attitude that school days are something to "get through" rather than a privilege and opportunity that will enrich lives and make brighter futures possible.

[lovesrecess]

I taught in public schools for 36 yrs; I only got 8 wks off in the summer but the students got June, July, and returned 2nd week in August. I think year-round school is not a good idea; kids need a break but so do the teachers.....year-round is difficult for high school students because many are working to save money for college or to help their families during the summer.

[Qwackertoo]

On 7/11/2014 mominohio said:

On 7/11/2014 Qwackertoo said:

We've never done it. But my Mother who taught first grade did and she actually enjoyed it and the kids, from higher grades, their teachers didn't have that re-teaching the first few weeks to review from the previous year wasted . . . 3 weeks off every 9 weeks I believe the schedule was, nice break, not too long too short . . . the teachers were not sick as much nor were the kids so absenteeism went down. It did NOT last. Maybe 3 years at most. I guess it was a daycare / after school care nightmare for parents who both worked or single parents as the care facilities hadn't had time to adapt to the new schedule and were probably resistant to do so . . . so it just didn't work out. This was a VERY LARGE school district.

I think it would be better. Although the after school care needs more time to adapt for the full days that would come for those who need some sort of care those 3 off weeks.

Change is not easy . . .

I'm curious to see how it works this year with the elementary school sharing the buses with the middle & high school. Elementary goes in early gets out early. Middle & high go in late get out later. School district running out of money for enough buses for all so they are having to share. I guess fewer buses, less maintenance . . . perhaps . . . , fewer bus drivers working longer hours running two routes . . . but what about weather days when they ALL get dismissed early due to a snow or ice storm heading our direction OR chance of tornadoes . . . OR flooding from too much rain (the buses do travel rural routes for many children so that is always a danger) . . . or school is delayed opening to all the previous stated reasons. I think it might be a big ole mess!!! Good luck to the new superintendent whoever wins that upcoming election!

Qwakertoo, our school system has always done the double runs with their buses. The older kids early and the young ones on a later run. It seems to work well, but you are right about their being a quandary with unplanned early releases in emergency situations (like weather). I suppose they just have to keep an eye on approaching storms, and get moving faster.

They are pretty good about but they do like to get in hours to at least 11:00 a.m. as I do believe that is the magical time they get to count it as a full day for their "federal dollars" and to NOT have to make it up . . . and they have to keep the bus students a little longer as they have to offer them lunch vs. the car riders & car drivers @ high school level. We just don't need any situations like poor Atlanta had with that ice storm last year. And they'll probably have a few more "misses" on the weather call due to acting earlier out of an abundance of caution . . . as it is . . . I'd hate to be the one to make those calls, IF it does nothing people aren't happy, IF it does something and they don't call it early enough people aren't happy . . . a fine line to walk on calling it and they are in the education business NOT the weather forecasting business.