Year-Round School Or Traditional: Which Is Better For Your Child?

By Deborah Lambeth

Registering your child for school can be a daunting task. You want to provide the best education for your child as well as help them become a successful student. So, do you choose schools that are on a traditional or a year-round schedule? Traditional schedules operate usually on a nine-month basis, with no school for two to three months during the summer (a total of 180 hours of classroom time per year). Traditional schedules provide the same curriculum as year-round schools. However, the amount of time a child spends in the classroom each day is an extended time compared to a child in a year-round schedule. Conversely, the amount of time a child spends not going to school is an extended period of time also, whereas with a year-round schedule, students usually get three-week breaks several times during the year.

Year-round schools operate on a "track" schedule all year long with the exception of a few weeks between the ending of one school year and the beginning of the next. Track scheduling is a staggered system specifically designed to accommodate more children in a school. Usually a school has anywhere from 3-4 tracks and the start and end dates of those tracks are staggered. Regardless of when a specific track starts and stops, children go to school for nine weeks straight and then have a break of three weeks where they are not in school. When you hear a parent say their child is "tracked out," it means they are out of school on a break.

A lot of studies have been done to see whether children in a year-round program do better on their test scores as opposed to children in a traditional program. However, many of the studies were inconclusive, indicating that there was not a large difference in test scores between the two types of schedules. So when deciding which type of school is best for a child, parents may want to consider the other pros and cons of the two types of schedules. For many working families, the year-round program fits better with their lifestyle; finding childcare for a three-week period is a lot less daunting task than having to find childcare for a two-month period if both parents work. Year-round scheduling also affords families the opportunities to take small trips throughout the year rather than planning the typical summer vacation that was commonplace years ago before year-round schools existed. Some people would argue that having an extended period of time in the summer for children to be out of school gives them a longer time to "regroup and recoup" from the traditional program. But others argue that children tend to forget over the summer the things they have learned; and that the first two to three weeks of the new year are lost on "re-learning" what they forgot over the summer. Depending on the specific child and their educational needs, year-round schooling can provide more continuity for children who need a more structured environment.

Teacher feedback about the two types of schedules is varied as well. Some teachers find it to be a real hindrance when they have to pack up everything in their class at the end of nine weeks only to have to come in and set it up again three weeks later. Maintenance issues at the schools are a consideration as well, since children are in the school all year long. However, the results of many surveys show that teacher absenteeism is lower with year-round staff and the scheduling reduces teacher burnout. But coordination of track schedules is a drawback for teachers who have children, as they may be on different track-in and track-out dates from those that their children are on. Most systems, though, try to accommodate and place families on the same tracks.

Parents need to do their homework when deciding on year-round or traditional schedules. Asking your local school system for their opinions. If they have resources available for you to read, that’s a good place to start. Contacting your state board of education is another resource.