Year-round School a Nightmare, Not a Fix for "Summer Slide"

Who remembers being bored to tears in elementary school because the first half of the year was spent reviewing what you learned the previous spring? There's got to be a better way, but as long as "under-resourced" students experience the "summer slide" in skills, those mind-numbing days will continue.

So-called "year round" schedules are not a fix either; in fact, they cause a nightmarish maze of problems for students, teachers, and parents alike. Most of these schedules involve three-week vacations at intervals during the school year. Take it from one who's been there--you don't want to go down that slippery slope.

First of all, these schedules create the "three-week slide." Think I'm exaggerating? Not.

Second, what do employed parents do for kids left on their own at three-week vacations? Parents don't enjoy that kind of vacation time, so babysitters and activities must be paid for--or kids left to their own devices.

Third, try being a teacher struggling over months to teach students a particular subject or skill and planning around those interruptions. What happens? Less content to the year, that's what.

No, there must be a better way! In fact, no study has shown that these schedules fix the problem.

In fact, what these students need used to be called summer school.

"In a partnership between the Charleston County School District and the nonprofit Charleston Promise Neighborhood, students from Mary Ford and Chicora Elementary meet for four weeks early in the summer in a program that's free for families, with breakfast, lunch and snacks included."

"They spend the mornings in the classroom focused on reading and math. Students might spend time on computer-based assignments that tailor themselves to the students' precise academic levels; other days they might work on group projects. In Courtney Reed's classroom of rising fifth-graders Wednesday morning, students were collaborating on a television newscast, complete with cameras and a green screen. Along the way, they practiced their language skills by filling out "job applications" and conducting interviews with each other."

Summer school by any other name is--summer camp?