Round School Calendar

The United States is Ranked 28th in Education.

Our Country is ranked the 28th in a global math and science education ranking according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This is a rather disturbing statistic when many poorer countries are ranked ahead of the United States. Also, considering the amount of technology that we possess. There has to be another reason why our country ranks so poorly. Is our students not being taught what they really need to know? Has too much technology made us lazy? Although this is a very complex problem that needs multiple solutions a year round school schedule is the primary change that needs to be made to improve on this ranking. I have identified 4 key solutions

The following year the first few weeks are typically spent reviewing or relearning lessons from the previous year. Rose Edwards a principal of Carpenter Elementary in Lake Orion, Michigan stated this: "Our teachers tell us they typically used to spend four to six weeks in review. Now it 's not even a week. Last year ,our first-grade teacher moved into second-grade math with three weeks left in school. Therefore, they were reviewing second-grade curriculum when they returned." (EduGuide staff 1) I have first hand knowledge of the various calendars. When I was in elementary through high school I was on a traditional schedule. During that time any other type of schedule was unheard of. As a child I enjoyed the 3 months off during the summer, but did become bored as the summer dragged on. I also remember how the school year was rather crammed together. Outside of the weekend the only real time off we had was 2 weeks for Christmas break and one week for spring break outside of a day here and there for various holidays. My children for the past couple of years have been on a "blended" schedule. They have a 2 month summer with an extra week for spring break and a full 2 weeks for fall break while still going the 180 required days. As a parent we like this schedule much better than the traditional schedule. Having the extra

"There are two kinds of YRE (year round education): multi-tracking, in which students attend on different calendars to allow more to fit into one building (some are always on vacation) and single tracking, where all students go to school on the same schedule. There are advantages to both, depending upon a district 's needs."(EDUguide staff 1). There is no secret that a year round school calendar could potentially be more expensive than a traditional calendar. Teachers would command higher salaries if they had to work more days. Schools would cost more to operate with air conditioning costs during the hot summer months. However, I am sure that this sort of new schedule could save money. A year round school system would allow for better use of school facilities. Some schools have students in school while others are on break. Allowing for a school to accommodate more students and eliminate the need to build a whole new school. My children are in a rather large school system. We have 5 elementary schools all located within just a couple miles of each other. If we could eliminate 2 schools due to 2 sessions then the cost savings to taxpayers would more than offset the increase in salaries for the