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... I don't understand why Wake County would not offer YR at the high school level. ....
I have been told that it is b/c of the "Specials" teachers... music, forreign language... you would need more of them to cover all the tracks, & that is expensive, but, then I was told the real reason is...
The Sports schedule!
Also, for graduating seniors who are college bound it would be a problem coordinating those calendars.
For younger kids (at least mine) academically it has been great being in year round.
I have been told that it is b/c of the "Specials" teachers... music, forreign language... you would need more of them to cover all the tracks, & that is expensive, but, then I was told the real reason is...
The Sports schedule!
I suspect it really had something to do with extracurricular activities, too. However, this still doesn't quite make sense to me. It hasn't been too long since I was in high school and I remember quite well that the marching band, cheerleaders, and footbal players all had to start attending long, daily rehearsals one month before school started. We had to spend hours a day working hard at school even though we were technically on vacation. Our marching band even had a national competition during winter break, meaning that we had to spend half of our break at a school activity.
So honestly, it's quite normal for students in certain extracurricular activities to be busy at school functions when everyone else is on vacation. Therefore, the officials shouldn't allow that to keep high schools from going year-round. But that's just my opinion.
It would make sense to have YR options for elementary, middle and high schools! I don't understand why Wake County would not offer YR at the high school level.
Fundamentally, from a strictly academic perspective, I really, really like the idea of year round schools for the educational benefits outlined in some previous posts. BUT, my two children are four years apart so I'll be looking at the potential of having my kids on different tracks.
I am struggling with how high schools could possibly be year round. With High School athletics programs, Junior and Senior proms, College SAT's, etc...., as much as I like the idea of year round, I just don't see how it can be done without sacrificing some of the extracurricular non-academic education benefits experienced by high school students.
In HS I would be concerned about the elective courses that don't have high enough enrollment to warrant multiple sections. I mean, when I was in Russian 4, there was only one section. Same thing with music theory and play production, and also same thing with all the AP courses. There weren't enough of us taking these classes to even fill up a whole class sometimes. I mean, there were 6 of us in AP Chemistry. Can you imagine trying to schedule these low-enrollment classes among 4 tracks? They might end up getting cut altogether if they had to do that.
ADVentive hit the nail on the head. HS have trouble switching to year-round schools because 1. they are unable to offer as many electives due to enrollment and the schools don't want to stop offering electives because schools are judged (like the recent "Best Schools" List) by the number of AP courses they offer.
2. The sports schedules do get screwed up because although many teams do practice in the summer its not the entire summer giving families usually at least a month to plan vacations, in year round schools the breaks are shorter and families have less time to schedule vacations around the kids sports obligations.
As a high school teacher I would love to teach year-round and spread my breaks out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ADVentive
In HS I would be concerned about the elective courses that don't have high enough enrollment to warrant multiple sections. I mean, when I was in Russian 4, there was only one section. Same thing with music theory and play production, and also same thing with all the AP courses. There weren't enough of us taking these classes to even fill up a whole class sometimes. I mean, there were 6 of us in AP Chemistry. Can you imagine trying to schedule these low-enrollment classes among 4 tracks? They might end up getting cut altogether if they had to do that.
In HS I would be concerned about the elective courses that don't have high enough enrollment to warrant multiple sections. I mean, when I was in Russian 4, there was only one section. Same thing with music theory and play production, and also same thing with all the AP courses. There weren't enough of us taking these classes to even fill up a whole class sometimes. I mean, there were 6 of us in AP Chemistry. Can you imagine trying to schedule these low-enrollment classes among 4 tracks? They might end up getting cut altogether if they had to do that.
This is absolutely a problem, in middle school- there are Very Few electives. That bothers me so much- it does mean that the kids are not getting equal educations.
A neighbor who just moved to the area had her children put on two different tracks. So this is not entirely true. They can only place you where they have room. It is also a drag for those of us who have children at different schools. Traditional middle schools and HS's and then year round elementary. Another factor is year round is very tough for children who take awhile for something to click. Just when they finally get it they are off for a few weeks and have to start all over again. There is no extended time for learning to become a habit formed, IMO. I attended 4th through 8 th grade on year round and it was awful. I really believe all schools should be on a modified traditional. Off for two month summers with a week off at thanksgiving, two weeks off for spring break and 1 month off for a winter break. There is no boredom and it gives families the chance to travel during the holidays without fighting to get back for school. We had this schedule in our old school district and it was highly favored.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeannie216
I'm not sure , but I think I read somewhere on the forum that siblings are kept on the same track. Anyway, I think that everyone has their different feelings and reasoning why year-round schools may or may not be for them and their families, I can only share what my personal thoughts are and why we are leaning towards the traditional method. If I had a child, such as yourself, who would be starting the school process from the beginning, year round may work for us. I have a 3rd and 5th grader, presently up in NJ in a traditional school setting, and we are trying to relocate to NC as soon as our house sells. I think it would be hard enough with all the changes, moving out of state, new schools, etc, and then to add to it, tell them they will be in school year round! I just thought it would be too overwelming for them...but thats me, from others on the forum it works very well for them and their kids. Along with those reasons, my kids schools are presently a hop, skip, and a jump from our home, and presently, in Wake county, distance to schools can be quite a bit further from what I understand. Jeannie
I'm with you, cakd! However, the only reason schools districts change to a year round schedule is to fit more students into a school - not because it makes sense academically, or is cheaper - it is only cheaper because they don't have to add more schools. We were year round in New Mexico, for a short time - most districts run this for a few years of transitional time until the numbers level, and the new housing is built out - California, Cherry Creek-Colorado, many other areas that experienced high growth in population have tried it, and eventually returned to traditional.
The jury is still out on the retention levels of students - do they lose what they know right away, or does it take a whole summer to forget everything.
So when they go off track, do they have to play catch up upon returning each break, or does it take longer?
If all of your children are on the same track, it is great to jump in a short line at Disney, etc. but if you have high school or middle schoolers, odds are not in your favor -
One more thing, say you paid a ton of money to live in a great family neighborhood, have great friends for you and the kids, etc. and they are all on different tracks - your kids will not have friends in the neighborhood to play with , again, the odds are not there.
Yes I agree! IN fact some of my kids good buddies she made over the past year are all now on different tracks. It has been a bit heart breaking to see them all be torn apart by the new schedules.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fridleygal
If all of your children are on the same track, it is great to jump in a short line at Disney, etc. but if you have high school or middle schoolers, odds are not in your favor -
One more thing, say you paid a ton of money to live in a great family neighborhood, have great friends for you and the kids, etc. and they are all on different tracks - your kids will not have friends in the neighborhood to play with , again, the odds are not there.
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electives do play a big part
