School's Out? Not So Fast

June 1, 2006 — -- The start of June used to launch a nationwide kid countdown to the lazy days of summer, free of textbooks and studying and full of playing outside -- or doing lots of nothing.

But for an increasing number of children, summer vacation means a few weeks off before starting a new grade, with the next break coming sometime in the fall.

Welcome to year-round schooling, where kids attend class even through the summer months, families take extended vacations in February and school systems use their facilities to accommodate the largest number of students.

According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, more than 2.1 million children in 47 states are enrolled in year-round schools in 2006. The majority are public schools, though some charter schools and private schools also are adopting the calendars. California, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas and Kentucky have the most districts using what's also known as a "balanced calendar."

"The question isn't doing away with summer vacation," said Sam Pepper, the group's executive director. "The question is how long should it be? We don't think it needs to be 13 weeks."

Typically, students on a balanced calendar spend something like 45 days in class followed by 15 days off throughout the year for the required 180 days of instruction. Many schools with booming populations utilize "multi-track" schedules that stagger students' time in the building throughout the year, allowing for more to attend. Advocates say the practice also helps students retain information from grade to grade.

"The idea of a long summer vacation really is not conducive to learning because the review time in September cuts into the 180 days," Pepper said. "We're finding, especially among lower socio-economic students, this is really showing academic gains."

But some critics say a traditional summer vacation is crucial to children's development and they are missing out in year-round school.

"The fact of the matter is children learn outside of the school walls in the summer -- it's just not the same kind of learning they get in the classroom," said Billee Bussard of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., a former journalist who now runs the Web site SummerMatters.com.