What Is Year-Round
Education?
The year-round concept has
been in existence since 1904. California is a leader in the use of this
approach. Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District has operated a
year-round program since 1972.
Year-round education is
scheduled for an entire 12-month period, rather than for the traditional
months of September through June. Students will not go to school all year;
they will simply have vacations at various times of the year, rather than
only in July and August. All students receive legal holidays including a
brief winter break.
Children will enjoy
continuous, well-planned learning opportunities in all core subjects and a
variety of other areas. Learning is a lifelong process. Life’s
activities, both work and play, take place in a year-round setting.
Year-round schools provide a quality education experience. Planned short
vacation periods allow for relaxation and minimize possible learning loss
and need for review.
Why Year-Round Schools?
Fairfield-Suisun is a
rapidly growing community. The district has employed a variety of
strategies to deal with the overcrowding at schools including busing
students to other sites and adding relocatable classrooms. Year-round
schools offer a viable, reasonable solution to this problem affecting
California Schools today.
Today's work community
functions twelve months of the year. Our society is no longer operating on
an agrarian calendar.
Lifestyles have changed.
Year-round education offers opportunities for off-season family activities
and vacations..
The year-round scheduling
with staggered breaks can aid student retention of learning material and
reduce the need for review.
In the long run, year-round
schools are cost-effective per student by more efficient use of the
facility, textbooks, and supplies.
It promotes positive teacher
and student morale. Many students and teachers report that more frequent
breaks allow them to return to school more refreshed and with greater
energy.
The educational program is
regularly being reviewed to offer the best possible sequence of learning.
Some school districts report
vandalism, discipline referrals and absenteeism for students, as well as
teachers, has been reduced because of the year-round schedule.
How a Year-Round Schedule
Works:
Students in a year-round
school are divided into multiple tracks with each track having a different
starting and ending date to make optimal use of the classrooms. Students
are assigned to a track to meet their specific needs and also to equalize
classroom enrollment. At any given time one track is out of school and the
other tracks are in session. The school is in operation 242 days a year
with teachers and students present.
The 60-20 plan will be used.
This schedule uses a calendar of three approximately 60 day attendance
periods followed by an approximate 20-day break. Children will have three
four-week vacations throughout the year. All students have winter break
and observe the legal holidays.
All children in a family
would attend school on the same schedule unless otherwise requested.
During the school year, each child remains with the same teacher.
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