The Pros And Cons Of Year-Round Schooling

Each year, school districts are faced with a growing population of students. The issue with this is that many districts have a shortage of school facilities, and they are limited to the amount of money they can spend on each of these facilities. To handle this issue, school districts around the world have adopted a year-round school calendar to ensure they are using these existing school facilities to their full ability. Year-round schooling arranges the breaks differently, causing students to be in school all throughout the year, rather than having three months off in the summer. In addition to maximizing the use of the schools, year-round schooling improves student learning and saves money in the long run.
In the 1800s, the purpose of summer vacation was so children could work on the farms and help provide for their family. Now, with the majority of the economy no longer based on …show more content…
Therefore, a current debate in education is to move toward a year-round school calendar. With this system, schools continue to operate 180 days per year. However, these 180 days are extended over the entire year, with short breaks between each term. This type of schooling began evolving in urban areas in the 1900s, however, it has only recently become a debate in the United States within the last twenty-five years. There are several versions of year-round schooling. The most popular form is the 45-15 Plan, where students attend school for forty-five days, and then have a fifteen day break. Other forms of year-round schooling include the 60-20 Plan and the 90-30 Plan. As of June 2006, an estimated 2.3 million students in over 3,100 schools across the United States began to reap the benefits of year-round schooling.
The main concern with both traditional schooling and year-round schooling is the academic performance of the students. Year-round schooling offers continuous learning of the curriculum. Studies have proven that students who