Do you have some kids in year round schools and some in traditional?They want to here

[Beth Y]

Our County school board is getting ready to vote on making ALL elementary schools in the county MANDATORY year round schools! There are already some voluntary year rounds, but this would make them ALL year round. But the problem is, they are not changing the middle or high schools AND only changing the traditional elementarys (no magnets, etc).

Has anyone heard of another school system doing this? Help me understand how this can be a good idea.

Tow of my kids will be forced into year round, while the other, if she goes to our base school, will be on a traditional calendar. I live in the center of town, where all the magnets are, so ours will be the ONLY elementary in our area, heck the only school in our area, that will be year round. All of the others are out in the newer, growth areas of town, where other year round schools are. I am not really opposed to year round, as we like to vacation off season, but with kids on different vacation schedules, there will be NO vacation time for us! I will be forced to a magnet or private school. I really hate this, as we live one block from our elementary AND middle school and we will have to look elsewhere!

Is anyone else dealing with this?

Needless to say, we are mounting a fight, but are VERY worried!

[Curiosity Hears]

This is the last year where I have a daughter on Track C and a stepdaughter on track B (which has made it impossible for vacationing). Stepdaughter goes into high school this fall so then I will have one in traditional and one in year round.

FWIIW, both the girls really like year round. They like going for three months then one month off. Just when they start getting bored (of coarse they won't admit this), it is back to school. From a parent's point of view it is nice because after a month of one being home everyday I am ready for them to back to school too.

I have been doing the opposite of what you are about to fight though, I drive the girls to the center of town to the magnet schools where the education is better. It is inconvient for me sometimes but the better education is clearly worth it.

Here in Southern Cal. they do it so more kids can go to fewer schools. It saves the tax payers millions in not having to build more schools.

Not sure if any of this helps or even addresses what you are looking for.

[Beth Y]

Actually, we were excited when we first heard they were thinking of changing to year round. We wouldn't mind year round. It is just that, going to schools a block from our house....one kid will have summer off and two kids won't. They are also saying many teachers will leave, as (and I know this is true in our school) many teachers have kids in the other middle and high schools, which will not go year round.

[Chefzhat]

Good gordy - what a convoluted schedule. I can't believe they would only change a few schools, but given some recent administrative decisions here I sometimes wonder what school boards think :(

FWIW, year-round school is very popular here in some districts.

[gertdog]

Fresno Unified in CA, where my mom worked until she retired last year, has multiple tracks for elementary only- some traditional, some year-round, some "modified traditional" whatever that is. Middle and high schools are on a traditional schedule. I remember her commenting that she probably would have left her job if they had gone to the convoluted scheduling while my sister and I were still in school- one of the main reasons she chose to be a school speech pathologist was to have the summers off with me and my sister.

[fci5767]

Ugh, Beth. I had heard about the changes in Wake County. Not sure what people around here would do in the same situation. In the district where I work, there is one elementary and one middle that is year-round. They are voluntary, though.

As a teacher, I'd love the year-round schedule (I think.) Although, I'm looking forward to a nice long rest this summer.

I hope that something changes, that sounds really difficult.

[honeygirl1971]

Pedagogically, year-round is much, much better, but it makes NO sense to me to change some schools in a district but not others. It should be all or nothing IMO! My mom is a high school teacher and her district is "modified year-round," (6 weeks off in summer, 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks at Xmas, 2 weeks in March, plus various days off here and there) and it really is a good thing, though.