anyone involved in Year round schooling?

[RCT]

I was checking into the schools more around where dh is looking..YIKES8o they all do year round...and uniforms....public school....never heard of that, but ok....anyone participate in this?

[KarlaB]

I wouldn't mind the uniforms, but the year round school would take some getting used to. 8o

[bizymum]

I dont mind the uniforms at all...but, dont liek the year round schooling, it had come up here once and then there was a vote. The vote came up almost 100% no. I like spending the 2 months straight with my kids and that way it is alot easier to plan holidays. That is just my opinion....

Sorry I am not much help.

[KathyT]

Don't do either here, but wish we did! Uniforms I think are a great idea. Year round I think also has a lot of merit; I'm sure kids retain more from the previous academic year.

[AnnW]

Would KILL for uniforms!!! One district did year round here, but it failed cause the elementary, middle and high school were all on different schedules..what nightmare having your kids off at different time!
I would love it! You go to school for 3 months, have 2-4 weeks off, easier to schedule vacations against the flow, kids retain more, they don't get bored...lots of plusses imo.

[beth c]

I think year round school would be great too. I have a friend that just moved to Iowa. They do year round schooling. She loves it. Since we live in a rural area the farmers won't hear of this schedule. Renee, I don't think it would be a bad idea. Like Ann mentioned, just make sure both of your kids are on the same schedule. I think uniforms are a good idea too.

JMHO

[RCT]

Originally posted by beth c
I think year round school would be great too. I have a friend that just moved to Iowa. They do year round schooling. She loves it.

Renee, I don't think it would be a bad idea. Like Ann mentioned, just make sure both of your kids are on the same schedule. I think uniforms are a good idea too.

JMHO

I love the idea of uniforms too, myself....never heard of public schools doing that, but I think its great....also there entire school district is year round...according to your household...all children living in on residence, no matter elementary, middle, or sr. high...they would follow the same track of year round...so that is a total plus...I'm getting a little excited....;)

[kat]

I would love to teach in a year round school. Several pilot programs around the state, but so far none close to us yet. I don't like the idea of uniforms though.

[AnnW]

Renee, alot of public schools here have what they call "modified" uniforms...blue or kahki pants/shorts, and blue or white long sleeve button down shirt or golf shirt. I would LOVE to do that. The middle school here has a really strict dress code so that is nice, but you can look like a slut, gangster or freak in high school!!!
One of the benefits to your kids with year round school is that they really haven't been in the school system long so this won't throw them

[Marla]

I would love the modified dress code that Ann mentioned or a uniform. It would be terrific to know what the kids are wearing every day!

Year round school....definately has it's pros! (we don't have it here either)

[MaryL]

The school where I work at (and dk's attend) has a modified dress code (a.k.a. "uniform"). Pants/Skirts/Jumpers/shorts can be khaki, black or navy blue (no cargo pants...no capri's, etc). Shirts must have a collar and may be hunter green/white/navy blue....our middle school students may also add a red shirt color. Most of the kids wear polo shirts most of the year, and turtleneck shirts in the winter. Solid color (same colors) sweaters and vests are allowed. We also have school spiritwear that they may wear anyday. It's GREAT!!!!! There is enough variety that they don't look identical...yet they look unified. It's not a problem finding these articles of clothing...most stores sell them. My dks don't complain, and I've heard very few complaints from parents.

I'm not a huge fan of year round schooling...and it's not real popular here yet. I guess right now, I selfishly enjoy the summer months with my kids. I do see benefits to it, though. Not sure exactly what I'd do if our district mandated it.

[Lynda-WA]

DS was on all year when we lived in CA and is on traditional here in WA. There were alot of benefits to all year depending on your POV. A teacher told me that most of it is what you are accoustomed to. People don't want to change to something new so will resist but once doing it that is then what you like. When she started teaching, she taught traditional. Parents and teachers didn't want to go to all-year. Then a couple of years ago the suggestion was made to go back to a traditional schedule. Parents and teachers didn't want to!

Benefits -
Non traditional vacation times so you could avoid crowds and get discounts. Some exhibits run in cycles and we had a break to catch every exhibit. For example the children's hand's on science museum changed exhibits every 3 months. We could go to every exhibit on a weekday and avoid crowds. We also would go to Marine world once or twice every break. So instead of fitting in 6 visits in two months the 6 visits were spread out over the entire year. Kids were just getting run down and were able to have a 3-4 week break. This was REALLY noticable with the kindergarteners! They were also just ready to go back to school at the end of the break. I don't think I ever heard *I'm bored* from DS or the boy I babysat. It was easier to keep up with things like nightly reading and special homework projects during the shorter breaks. The teachers would assign one fun larger project over break. For example, using any materials create a dinosaur and label it. Excellent for teaching time management. All of the in-service days, half days etc were in conjunction with the breaks. Not like here were every other week the kids are off one day. That made planning and finding a babysitter so much easier. I think DS not only retained more info but actually used the short breaks to process what he learned. I commented to his teacher once that he came back from every break more skilled (at reading) then prior to break. She suggested that he was probably internalizing what he had learned during school and when he had that breathing room was when he processed it and everything fell into place. He easily retained more on the all year schedule then he is on the traditional. DS's school had 5 tracks (schedules). One was always off. Some breaks all kids had (Thanksgiving, Christmas). DS was off from Thanksgiving until the day after New Years. Perfect for out of state vacations. The school would place all children in the same family on the same schedule. And the middle schools and high schools would work with you but it wasn't a gaurentee. One friend intentionally had her daughters on different schedules. She said it gave her one on one time with each daughter. A child could be bumped to another track for additional learning time or time to mature. From DS's K class at least 3 children started and then pulled out to catch a later track. That gave them an additional couple of months to mature. From what the teacher I knew said, those couple of months made a huge difference for some kindergarteners. And if a child did get held back a year they could be moved to another track. It wouldn't be noticable to the other children that he had been held back so teasing wasn't a factor. Since the area was primarily all year schools, other programs were tailored to coincide with the breaks. You could send a child to a mini day camp for the three weeks they were off and essentially that was your day care. For some older kids it was easier to get part time jobs. For example DS was off from Thanksgiving to after New Years. That schedule would be perfect for a high schooler wanting to put in some good hours. Plus it wasn't a case of all high schoolers looking for part time jobs at the same time.

Cons - I debated going back to school myself. My origional plan was to go to school while the kids did. That isn't possible with all year school since a break falls during every college semester. A couple of the teacher's I know like to do either major personal projects of get a summer job during summer vacation. Wouldn't be as easy without a summer vacation. One family was a single parent. The Mom's parents would spend summers in CA to babysit the little girls. It wasn't economical for them fly out 4 times a year. This mom switched to the one public school in the district that stayed on a traditional cycle. I had to spend alot of time explaining things to the extended families. They all had misperceptions about all year school. For example - kids need the time off. So I needed to explain that the kids went to school the same number of days. Older kids wound up spending most of the year at school if they had after school activites like school sports. Guys playing football still had practice even if they were on break since 3/4s of the other kids on the team were still in school. For some older kids getting a part time job was harder. Some of the traditional high school student jobs are only available during the summers (farm field labor). Kids may be at school during that time frame.

I think I covered it all for year round school.

I know nothing about school uniforms. A friends daughter wore a uniform and they loved it. She said it was cheaper in the long run. Since I'm a bargin shopper, uniforms would probably cost me more.

[RCT]

WOW, thanks for you pro/cons...very helpful....

as for the unforms being pricey, my girlfriend in CA told me that they are a lot of swap parties....between the parents so that you can trade for a different size with another parent...you get to look over the outfit and all...sounds like a good program...she did if for her daughter for the last 5 years...only paid for the initial uniform....

I am excited at the prospect of year round school....thinking of trying for a job a the school....but dh said I might be able to stay at home still and do computer work for his company....:rolleyes: we'll see....:lol: would love to be able to SAH still....

thanks again for all the input everyone :wave: