School Year Might Go Year Round

[Seil]

This be in my local news. Yarr.

The Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district is once again considering year-round schooling for its students.

Staff members have been asked by the school board to prepare a report on the possibility of implementing year-long learning, also called a balanced calendar, in the district and table it in November.

Such a system differs from the traditional calendar, which gives students a two-month summer vacation.

Instead of 60 days in the summer, and the usual Christmas and spring breaks, the balanced calendar spreads the days throughout the year. For example, a balanced calendar could give students 30 days in the summer, 15 days for a fall break, 15 for Christmas and 15 for spring break.

Trustee Dot Neary asked for the report after a number of parents expressed their support for the change after studies suggesting that balanced calendars result in improved grades, increased student attendance and a decrease in teacher sick days.

Supporters of balanced calendars say long summers are damaging for students who don't keep up with reading or learning activity, and much of the beginning of each year is spent reviewing the previous year's material.

Neary suggested that one or more schools in the district could be part of a pilot project using a balanced calendar. Trustee David Murchie acknowledged that it would be a "significant departure" from the current system, which is largely the result of the need for farmers to have their children on the farms during the growing season.

"Personally, I think that there are less disruptive ways to improve education but I fully support the board's decision to ask that a report be written on the subject," he said.

I'm for it.