I don't understand why folks can't count. If there is a required 180 days and you don't start until the last Monday of August there will STILL be only 2 months of summer.
It is nearly impossible to fit 180 days between Labor Day and Memorial Day.
By my count in the 2019-20 school year there are 195 potential school days between the last Monday in August and Memorial Day.
Subtract the following 7 days:
Labor Day
Thanksgiving and the Friday after
Christmas Eve
Christmas
NYE
NYD
Now there are 188 days for 180 days. Of course most parents won’t want their kids going to school on December 26, 27 or 30 so that is 3 more days. So any other breaks will need to fit within those 5 days.
So any extra days before Christmas Eve and after NYD, any fall breaks, and spring breaks any built in snow days eat in to that 5 and then bleed over past Memorial Day in to June.
Tom - 6 years ago
Having been a former teacher, I am in favor of longer summers. When a student is away from school for 2 weeks, you always have to review what was being taught before the break. The longer fall breaks, Christmas breaks, spring breaks, and 3 day weekends cause a teacher to spend quality time reviewing. Review at the beginning of the school year and after Christmas. Then the rest of the year can be spent learning new information or expanding on what the students already know. Some schools may be able to have a lot of vacation time throughout the year, but not all of them. There is no perfect answer to this question. Most students in smaller schools will do better with a longer summer vacation and less time off during the year. Once a student gets into a routine, their learning skills improve. Thank you Mr. Kruse for caring about students, parents, and summer employers.
Amy - 6 years ago
As a high school teacher and mother, I don't think the timing of when we stop and start school is the problem or the solution. Back in the "old days" we didn't have mandatory 180 days, we didn't have to make up snow days, and we didn't have mandatory tests that literally take up weeks and months of useful instruction time. I cannot tell you how many weeks I lose during the school year due to students being tested. I had students in high school out for testing the week before final exams!! It's so counter-productive. If we want to make a difference in our children's education, we can still change our calendars back to starting later in August or after Labor Day. But individual school systems NEED to be able to adapt the calendar to fit their community!! Not a cookie-cutter calendar! Also, streamline all the ridiculous testing for all students. If teachers and students were allowed to use the 180 days for more learning and less testing, that would make a huge difference.
Amaris - 6 years ago
As a parent, I see benefits of either calendar. However, as a mother to a special needs child, the summers are rough not only for him, but also the rest of us. He struggles without that structure the school and his resource teachers provide. Also, regression is a factor to consider with the longer summer break. While I am in favor of a longer summer, there should also be something to help the students that need that extra help. They get support and someone to help them through the school year, but then they are left to deal with the sudden absence of that support over the summer break while the school can't seem to get the district to approve any assistance over the summer break. While we can't change a schedule based on one group of students, we also have to consider all possibilities and not just the ones we like and what looks good to the general public.
Shannon - 6 years ago
I am also a teacher and wonder about the studies that find "summer loss" to be significant, especially among poorer communities. Also many students do not get the benifits of balanced meals and structure outside of school. Longer summers will only increase their vulnerability. Spending half, or even a quarter, of the year reviewing everything they learned last year is in no ones best interest. I am also curious as to whether charter schools will be given ways out of this as the push to defund and discredit public schools is going strong in Indiana. Summers off were a product of our agricultural society, a society that a majority of students no longer participate in. I think the local districts should decide their calander along with parent input. If rural schools need the extra month for agricultural activities but urban schools feel it will lead to too much loss and other issues than schools need the flexibility to meet these needs. I'd personally love an extra month off, I just don't think it is in all student's best interest.
julie - 6 years ago
I am a teacher & in favor of the bill proposal. The education system is already moving too fast & students aren't learning or retaining information. Taking the longer summer & having repetition when they return is not a bad thing. I can remember when I went to school we had 3 months for summer break. When we returned in the fall we spent the first few months reviewing what we were taught the previous year. Not a bad thing! Today our students aren't retaining the information they are taught. They are taught to be cramming for assessment tests. Its like cramming for a college exam- cram, take the test, & the info. goes out the window, thereby the students are not retaining the information.
I also agree with Kruse regarding work for students. Many employers won't hire students for the summer now because of the time & training invested. Its just not worth it to them to go through the hiring process only to have to hire again just 8 weeks later. For these reasons I really hope & pray that we return to the longer summer schedule.
Mary - 6 years ago
I think a school's calendar should be a local district decision.
Rachel - 6 years ago
What about those students who need the extra breaks in order to better function for school. Those students struggle with school for long periods of time with no breaks. The balanced calendar benefits those students allowing breaks for them to relieve the stress of schooling and regroup to start again. What about the families that can't afford to go on vacation and now with the extra month they have to find a way to pay a sitter as well. Some low income families struggle to pay the bills, let alone pay for a month of daycare for one or more children.
I don't understand why folks can't count. If there is a required 180 days and you don't start until the last Monday of August there will STILL be only 2 months of summer.
It is nearly impossible to fit 180 days between Labor Day and Memorial Day.
By my count in the 2019-20 school year there are 195 potential school days between the last Monday in August and Memorial Day.
Subtract the following 7 days:
Labor Day
Thanksgiving and the Friday after
Christmas Eve
Christmas
NYE
NYD
Now there are 188 days for 180 days. Of course most parents won’t want their kids going to school on December 26, 27 or 30 so that is 3 more days. So any other breaks will need to fit within those 5 days.
So any extra days before Christmas Eve and after NYD, any fall breaks, and spring breaks any built in snow days eat in to that 5 and then bleed over past Memorial Day in to June.
Having been a former teacher, I am in favor of longer summers. When a student is away from school for 2 weeks, you always have to review what was being taught before the break. The longer fall breaks, Christmas breaks, spring breaks, and 3 day weekends cause a teacher to spend quality time reviewing. Review at the beginning of the school year and after Christmas. Then the rest of the year can be spent learning new information or expanding on what the students already know. Some schools may be able to have a lot of vacation time throughout the year, but not all of them. There is no perfect answer to this question. Most students in smaller schools will do better with a longer summer vacation and less time off during the year. Once a student gets into a routine, their learning skills improve. Thank you Mr. Kruse for caring about students, parents, and summer employers.
As a high school teacher and mother, I don't think the timing of when we stop and start school is the problem or the solution. Back in the "old days" we didn't have mandatory 180 days, we didn't have to make up snow days, and we didn't have mandatory tests that literally take up weeks and months of useful instruction time. I cannot tell you how many weeks I lose during the school year due to students being tested. I had students in high school out for testing the week before final exams!! It's so counter-productive. If we want to make a difference in our children's education, we can still change our calendars back to starting later in August or after Labor Day. But individual school systems NEED to be able to adapt the calendar to fit their community!! Not a cookie-cutter calendar! Also, streamline all the ridiculous testing for all students. If teachers and students were allowed to use the 180 days for more learning and less testing, that would make a huge difference.
As a parent, I see benefits of either calendar. However, as a mother to a special needs child, the summers are rough not only for him, but also the rest of us. He struggles without that structure the school and his resource teachers provide. Also, regression is a factor to consider with the longer summer break. While I am in favor of a longer summer, there should also be something to help the students that need that extra help. They get support and someone to help them through the school year, but then they are left to deal with the sudden absence of that support over the summer break while the school can't seem to get the district to approve any assistance over the summer break. While we can't change a schedule based on one group of students, we also have to consider all possibilities and not just the ones we like and what looks good to the general public.
I am also a teacher and wonder about the studies that find "summer loss" to be significant, especially among poorer communities. Also many students do not get the benifits of balanced meals and structure outside of school. Longer summers will only increase their vulnerability. Spending half, or even a quarter, of the year reviewing everything they learned last year is in no ones best interest. I am also curious as to whether charter schools will be given ways out of this as the push to defund and discredit public schools is going strong in Indiana. Summers off were a product of our agricultural society, a society that a majority of students no longer participate in. I think the local districts should decide their calander along with parent input. If rural schools need the extra month for agricultural activities but urban schools feel it will lead to too much loss and other issues than schools need the flexibility to meet these needs. I'd personally love an extra month off, I just don't think it is in all student's best interest.
I am a teacher & in favor of the bill proposal. The education system is already moving too fast & students aren't learning or retaining information. Taking the longer summer & having repetition when they return is not a bad thing. I can remember when I went to school we had 3 months for summer break. When we returned in the fall we spent the first few months reviewing what we were taught the previous year. Not a bad thing! Today our students aren't retaining the information they are taught. They are taught to be cramming for assessment tests. Its like cramming for a college exam- cram, take the test, & the info. goes out the window, thereby the students are not retaining the information.
I also agree with Kruse regarding work for students. Many employers won't hire students for the summer now because of the time & training invested. Its just not worth it to them to go through the hiring process only to have to hire again just 8 weeks later. For these reasons I really hope & pray that we return to the longer summer schedule.
I think a school's calendar should be a local district decision.
What about those students who need the extra breaks in order to better function for school. Those students struggle with school for long periods of time with no breaks. The balanced calendar benefits those students allowing breaks for them to relieve the stress of schooling and regroup to start again. What about the families that can't afford to go on vacation and now with the extra month they have to find a way to pay a sitter as well. Some low income families struggle to pay the bills, let alone pay for a month of daycare for one or more children.