More school days - we already have 180 days

[goddess40]

plus we are working very hard to upgrade our summer school programs. Now if we have to add school days it might just be the kiss of death for our great summer school programs.

I never really thought about how many days other states mandate, is 180 average?

[imdjh]

1. All I know is that school is supposed to start the day after Labor Day and end Memorial Day

[WinkyDink]

2. Really? Try before LD and into the second week of June.

[imdjh]

5. They started that June crap when I was a kid.

And for the life of me, I cannot understand why Florida schools start in mid August and end in mid May now.

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. 180 is the norm. Some shorter -- 175 or so. Some longer...

...but no longer than about 185.

Europe -- 220 or so.

[goddess40]

4. Each state determines school-year length

I found this on yahoo, so it seems 180 is average. I wish it stated which states have less than 180 and where they ranked in the scheme of things.

The U.S. government doesn't require a certain number of school days per year. Each state determines school-year length on its own.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, American schools average 180 days of instruction per year. That figure includes public and private schools at both the elementary and secondary levels.

A July 2004 report (MS Word document) from the Education Commission of the States lists each state's school-year requirements. Thirty states have 180-day school years, two have school years longer than 180 days, and 11 have school years shorter than 180 days. Minnesota is the only state that doesn't require a set number of days or instructional hours for schools. Each district can dictate its own school year

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070329112722AAOzBxt

[BeatleBoot]

6. In Japan

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Research5/Japan/structure_j.html

<snip>

Though the minimum required number of school hours varies for different grade levels, Monbusho requires a minimum of 210 days of instruction, including a half-day on Saturdays which is counted as a full day for all elementary and secondary school students. However, local school boards, which can add more days to the school calendar at their discretion, typically specify 240 school days per year, including Saturdays, to permit time for nonacademic studies and activities. The "extra" 30 days that are reported allow school time to be used for various activities such as field trips, sports day, cultural festivals, and graduation ceremonies (Ichikawa 1988).

<more>

[glowing]

7. What would you think about a year round program with 3 weeks off inbetween

each semester? Would that allow for tutoring help? Or would it make sense to open up "afterschool" care. Parents are all over the place. Would an afternoon program focusing on tutoring and extra-curricular would help. My mom's school has this program called Wings... they offer unique classes that wouldn't happen during the school time. Parents love it and gladly pay the extra money to fund the resources needed (its cheaper than daycare and the school gets outside money to pay the teachers to stay and do the program). My mom did catapults last spring (she wished I was closer; its involved much more physics than she was used to). AND she does knitting as a staple. Who knits these days? Who would think young girls and boys absolutely love the class.. and thank goodness my mom knows how to teach such a simple activity that is a rarity these days.

What would you choose to do to get our children up to speed with the rest of the world competitively? What would help you to achieve the goals.. I know the pressure is extreme. I personally think classrooms need smaller groups of children or double teachers in the room. What are some sollutions teachers would be willing to try? The truth is that the long summer has shown that kids lose what they have learned with that long of a break.

Instead of hearing: why do we have to do more than 180 days for school or keep the status quo: what would school systems be willing to transition and change into? I think it would be good for a year round program with breaks inbetween quarters.

[mzteris]

13. Year-round schools are wonderful!

In Wake County, NC there are quite a few of them, and more being added. People who go to them love them - and especially the teachers. Getting a short break every few weeks makes everyone happier and more willing to be there. The shorter breaks prevent loss of skills over a typical summer break. Year round students make greater gains than a typical school year student.

It utilizes resources better, offers the oppportunity for people "to vacation" year-round. It's good for the local economy as more session break programs are added throughout the year. Wake County suffers from EXTREME over-crowding and so welcomes these innovative ideas.

Yeah, people are reluctant at first, but after they've experienced, the vast majority wouldn't go back to a traditional school year.

[goddess40]

22. I think it sounds great

and here in Wisconsin it would give families a chance to enjoy all four seasons. BUT it is so difficult to get people to sign on to something different.

[donco6]

26. A lot of schools have year round schools on "tracks".

More to save space during high population growth periods. It's sort of like this schedule you describe, but with two different groups of kids, staggered through the year. It basically uses the summer months to spread the population out further so they can fit more kids in the building when they cannot build a new one.

We believe in having the month of July off for everyone. That said, our schools are busy in every other month of the year. It works out to be not a lot different from what you describe, just not as "tidy", and it's not for every kid.

[virgogal]

8. 180 in MA.

[ChazII]

10. Arizona also has

180 days.

[Hekate]

9. The world average is 200 days/year; in Japan it's 243 days. They don't have to spend Sept reviewing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

[daleanime]

11. Sorry kids...

everyone else gets a running start:spank: and our country becomes even dumber(is that possible?)

[Hekate]

17. I think most people really don't get it. Our kids don't start out dumb, but they get behind...

... and can really never catch up. This is especially true of poor kids -- better-off families often do "enrichment activities" during the long summer, which means they don't have to spend as much time relearning last year's work come September. But parents who are poor or lower socioeconomic or whatever euphemism you want to use not only can't afford to spend the money, but also often say things like "They're only kids a short time. Let them have free time; don't make them work so hard in school," etc., and those kids spend ages every September relearning last year's work -- and year by year they fall farther behind.

It drives me crazy that every debate about making our schools more rigorous devolves into a fight over how kids shouldn't be "forced" to learn a foreign language in elementary school and so on. I want to ask these people if they really believe our children are stupider than children in other countries.

And then there's the Republican plan (or so it seems) to actually make our students dumb and dumber by taking ever more funding away from public education....

Hekate

[SheilaT]

12. Given how short our school year

is in every state, it's a wonder our kids don't collectively score a whole lot worse than they do, compared to the rest of the world.

On the other hand, I'm under the impression that the American teams usually do incredibly well in Physics and other such competitions that are held each year. Our best and brightest are truly amazing.

[beyurslf]

14. I think we should have year round school.

We do not live in a farmer society anymore. We don't need harvest season free. We should have small breaks of maybe 2 weeks a few times a year, maybe in between quarters. I hate summer break and it takes my boys several weeks to get into the hang of school again.

[timeforpeace]

16. One of the reasons other countries are passing us by is their year round schooling. Teachers here

don't like it I guess.

[PVnRT]

19. Rural schools still are a "farmer society"

Like it or not, many kids out in the sticks still have to help out with the harvest.

[beyurslf]

21. Then I guess they can fall behind and have 9 months of school.

There is no reason the majority of kids--who live in urban or suburban areas and may have never even seen a farm--should not be in school more than 9 months a year.

[alp227]

25. Right on, it's time for a change already

Farming influenced a lot of American culture, including the fact that Election Day is on Tuesday. I'm with you on year-round school and also support weekend elections.

[Dumak]

15. The long summer break from school

allows kids to rid their minds of nearly everything they've learned while in school. In addition, they are becoming experts at agriculture as they help their parents tend the family farm.

[stray cat]

18. No need to upgrade summer school programs if it switches to year round

[LWolf]

20. 180 is the norm.

My district had 168, one of the lowest in the nation, until last spring's budget cuts. Now we have 147, which is packaged as not losing instructional time, because they made the days we've got longer. TOO long.

Adding days is fine. Adding hours is not. Our students' brains do not stay focused and engaged on learning for long periods at a time. Learning happens more effectively in shorter, more frequent sessions. We are all really tired and not functioning at our best that last hour of the day, now that school doesn't let out until 4:15. My 6th - 8th graders are dealing with it better, though, than the youngest students in our K-8 school. The last 2 hours are full of cranky children in the lower grades; K-2 are often tearful, as well.

As for summer programming...

I'd rather see the nation go to a single-track year-round schedule. Shorter, more frequent breaks are better for both students and teachers. Having taught several versions, as well as the traditional year, I feel qualified to say so.

Shorter, more frequent breaks do away with burnout. We stay rested and refreshed. We also spend a hell of a lot less time reviewing and reteaching everything that they "forgot" over the summer because of the extended time so many spend not reading, etc..

I'd like to see 190 instructional days over the course of the year, with longer fall, winter, and spring breaks, and a shorter summer break, myself.

I'd also like to see any tutoring or enrichment programs happening year-round before and after school all year.

[AdHocSolver]

23. Whoever thinks that merely increasing the number of days in school will solve US education problems,

...doesn't understand the problems with education.

The adage "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome." comes to mind.

There are many problems with education such as colleges of education, dumbed-down curriculums, inadequate funding, policies such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), politicization of education, attacks on the teaching profession, corporate influence, and attacks by religious extremists just to name a few.

To think that just adding more days of school, without first fixing these other problems, will improve education is plain nuts.

[ki83760]

24. there should be more holidays