NO MORE LONG SUMMER HOLIDAYS

By the time summer holiday is over, many families and children can’t wait for school to start. It is especially difficult for working parents to keep their children busy during summer. For children summer holiday is just too long to be at home and they are simply bored of watching TV, playing computer games or even waking up late in the mornings. For teachers there is a bigger problem. Their students usually forget most of the things they learnt during the long summer holiday.

Currently, 14 out of every 100 U.S. public schools are on year-round calendars. Students at year-round schools also have classes 180 days a year. The difference is that year-round schools don’t have a long summer break that is 10 or 12 weeks long like the schools on a traditional calendar. Instead they have several two to four week breaks during the school year.

Some parents say that the schools on a year-round calendar are much better than the schools on a traditional calendar. "They liked having two weeks away from school every nine weeks," said Jason Olsen who is the spokesperson of Salt Lake City Schools in the U.S.A. Another parent says, "I think it's good. The kids don't get as bored for the long break in the summer, and it's good to have a couple of breaks in the middle of the year. They're happier. Also when they spend less time away from school, the teachers don't waste so much time reviewing." Education officials say that the year-round calendar can also help schools save money. Many year-round schools place students on a "multi-track" system. In this system, some students are on break while others are in class. This allows schools to serve more students in the same space. It means that they don't have to build many new schools. "We definitely use the year-round system to maximize space," said Mike Charbonneau. He is the spokesperson for North Carolina's Wake County Public School System. "We have had a rapidly growing school system."

But not everyone supports the idea of year-round schools. Firstly it costs more to run these schools. Year-round schools have extra transportation costs. They also have higher air-conditioning bills. It is also more difficult to make repairs when classrooms are empty only for short periods. Some working parents also say that it is more difficult for them to arrange childcare for these shorter breaks.

Scientists haven’t come to a decision on which system has more advantages than the other. Some studies have shown that students on year-round schedules do better in school. Other studies have found just the opposite.

Justin Raber who is the president of a parent-teacher group in West Virginia says that parents and schools must decide what is best for their own community.