Have you ever felt like you blink your eyes and weeks have passed by? This is exactly how I am feeling. Where did April go? (Sigh) The school year is almost over. In my world this means that my groups will be ending in a few short weeks so that I can assist with the plethora of end-of-the-year assessments that must be done. There is still so much I want to teach! Plus, I have a student who has FINALLY turned a corner. This is a child that I have spent hours strategizing how to support. (I replaced sleeping with this...and I LOVE sleep!) I am starting to see real leaps in their progress and I want to keep this momentum going. Just the thought of this student going three months without school worries me. We all know that our kids tend to 'step back' a little over summer break, meaning they loose some of the progress they made during the school year. It makes me wish that my school district was year round.
I can see the potential advantages of a year round school schedule for my ELL students. For many ELL students English is not spoken in the home therefore they don't have that consistent exposure to the English language when they are not in school. I also think about how important routines/schedules are for so many students, especially students who have special education needs. Plus, when I think of the possibilities of having all students reading, writing and mathematizing, without a three month break, my heart smiles. It seems to me that the summer loss that occurs would be lessened if we had a year round schedule.
Now I know it's easy to say we should have a year round school calendar, but implementing it I think would be a challenge...to say the least. I imagine district scheduling would be even more of a nightmare and I wonder how it might impact parents who have children in multiple grades. Would this type of school calendar make it difficult for them? Then I think about the cost. I would assume that an increased use of utilities would, of course, increase cost. Plus, with a year round calendar would the maintenance crews and custodians be able to do their jobs effectively?
I am sure there are a million other arguments for or against a year round school calendar. I simply don't have any experience with a school who uses one...yet so my knowledge about it is still a work in progress. I am curious to know what others think and, if they have had experience with a year round school, what it was like for them. But, when I think about just my students and nothing else, I am convinced that year round school would be the best. After all, don't we strive to put our students first.
I can see the potential advantages of a year round school schedule for my ELL students. For many ELL students English is not spoken in the home therefore they don't have that consistent exposure to the English language when they are not in school. I also think about how important routines/schedules are for so many students, especially students who have special education needs. Plus, when I think of the possibilities of having all students reading, writing and mathematizing, without a three month break, my heart smiles. It seems to me that the summer loss that occurs would be lessened if we had a year round schedule.
Now I know it's easy to say we should have a year round school calendar, but implementing it I think would be a challenge...to say the least. I imagine district scheduling would be even more of a nightmare and I wonder how it might impact parents who have children in multiple grades. Would this type of school calendar make it difficult for them? Then I think about the cost. I would assume that an increased use of utilities would, of course, increase cost. Plus, with a year round calendar would the maintenance crews and custodians be able to do their jobs effectively?
I am sure there are a million other arguments for or against a year round school calendar. I simply don't have any experience with a school who uses one...yet so my knowledge about it is still a work in progress. I am curious to know what others think and, if they have had experience with a year round school, what it was like for them. But, when I think about just my students and nothing else, I am convinced that year round school would be the best. After all, don't we strive to put our students first.
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