District Administration - July/August 2011 - (Page 40)

Is Year-Round Schooling on Track? it’s unclear to me why this would be good for anybody,” he asserts. Little Proof Administrators in some districts that have adopted year-round schedules add that although anecdotal observations from teachers and parents prove that it works, they have no data showing it makes a difference in students’ achievement. “We are not seeing our year-round schools outperforming those on traditional calendars,” declares Michael Evans, chief communications officer in the Wake County (N.C.) Public School System (WCPSS). Brent Holsclaw, superintendent of the Bardstown (Ky.) City Schools, says the district has seen “some positive trends” in student grades, attendance and discipline referrals since it implemented its year-round calendar in 1995-1996, but he admits, “We can’t scientifically attribute them only to year-round education. There’s little proof that it has increased test scores or anything else that is measurable.” Then again, he says, “we can’t say with certainty that they are not a result of that, either.” Similarly, Miriam D. Hughey-Guy, Students in After School Matters, which is a private program, perform cheers at the Chicago Public Schools’ back to school rally last summer for Track E. (Fla.) Public Schools added 10 days to the school year, as well as one hour to the school day as part of a comprehensive $100 million school reform program, “School Improvement Zone,” that the district designed to bolster the performance of students. “It didn’t work,” according to Marta Perez, vice chair of the district’s board of education. The district ended the program in 2008, and a final report that it issued in May 2009 concludes that the program “cannot be considered to have had a positive impact” on the students. It cites “excessive absences” by students and reports by the format is “in kind of a holding period right now, given the rough economic patch we’re going through.” Track Systems Some districts have adopted year-round schooling for reasons other than boosting academic achievement. In Wake County, says Evans, “we have not measured it as an academic tool. We have used it as a capacity governance model. You get more students into a school and have to build fewer schools. It’s a function of trying to keep up with growth.” His district and others have done that through multitracking, a scheduling format that divides the student body into four groups or “tracks,” with one group on break while the others are in school. The schedule is “45/15,” with students in school for 45 days, then off for 15. It begins in early July for three tracks, while the fourth begins 15 days later when one of the other tracks is on break. In Wake County, with 163 schools altogether, 40 elementary schools and nine middle schools have operated on multitrack schedules since in the early 1990s, with most of the others remaining on a traditional calendar, says Evans. “It was done initially so we wouldn’t have to build as many schools. We were net-growing 7,000 kids a year in 2003-2004. It was astronomical, and we couldn’t build schools fast enough or afford to pass bonds,” Evans explains. By operating schools on a multitrack system, WCPSS can accommodate Continued District Administration “We figured it would make more sense to set up intersessions in the schools at the end of each quarter, on scheduled breaks, and catch students who were falling behind before they moved on.” —Brent Holsclaw, superintendent, Bardstown (Ky.) City Schools principal of Barcroft Elementary School in the Arlington (Va.) Public Schools, says “I can’t say that having a modified school calendar is the sole reason we are making gains on state tests [starting in third grade in reading and math]. We constantly adjust our instructional programs and how we deliver them, so it’s a combination of those.” Barcroft has operated year-round since 2003 and is the district’s only school on a year-round schedule. In 39 selected schools from 2004 through 2008, the Miami-Dade County 40 July/August 2011 principals and teachers that “proficient students felt stigmatized by the mandatory additional time, which was viewed as punishment rather than enforcement.” The evaluation document also cites “reports of fatigue and burn out by administrators and teachers.” Perez had concerns about the program even before it began, including its cost, which was due largely to staffing requirements. Ballinger agrees that an extended school year incurs higher personnel expenses, and he explains that this is why

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July/August 2011

District Administration - July/August 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Facilities News
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The Social Media Dilemma
Is Year-Round Schooling on Track?
After 50 Years, Ethnic Studies Still Controversial
Finding the Right Purchasing Solution
Look, Listen, Learn
Research Center
Supervisor’s Opinion
Going Mobile
Superintendent’s Insight
Books
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - July/August 2011