Benefits of Year Round School Essay Example

Many schools around the world are switching to year round schooling, and follow a more balanced calendar. This topic has caused much debate. For most, the belief is that students would not have time to re-energize or relax with this type of schedule. While understandable, this belief is untrue. The benefits deeply outweigh the cons of a year round calendar. In a year round schooling system, students and staff are given shorter breaks more frequently, instead of a single, long break during the summer. Students and teachers alike are better off with this type of calendar because they develop closer bonds and their students become better socially, emotionally, and academically.

To start things off, students form tighter relationships and are better in social situations with year round schooling. Evidence shows that teachers as well as “students experience a closer relationship in year-round schools than they do in traditional, shorter-calendar-year schools… students do not feel detached from the school environment” (Lynch). Students are with each other year round, and do not feel isolated for long periods of time, meaning that they will become more open and socially interactive with one another. This improves social skills, and gives a better learning and teaching experience for both students and teachers. Another benefit of year round schooling is that it “provides a more structured environment, one of consistency and positivity, for students with unsupportive or unstable homes” (McGuire). During this type of calendar, students will be in a safe environment year round. They also do not need to worry about the unpredictable summer months, and can instead spend them with peers and teachers. This brings a better learning experience, which puts a positive connotation on school in the minds of its students. Lastly, students have better mental health, because “when schools close for the summer, achievement gaps increase and students experience a decline in academic skills and social-emotional health” (McGuire). Students’ mental health is impacted by the long summer break, and they become stressed for the upcoming school year. With a year-round calendar, this does not happen, and students have improved social-emotional health due to the consistency and balance of the calendar. Year round schooling, also known as a balanced school year, helps students socially and emotionally, which in turn helps them academically.

Moreover, students remember more information they have learned, and thus end up doing better academically. It is known that schools will spend the first part of the school year reviewing, and a study from “the National Summer Learning Association often cites decades of research that shows that it can take anywhere from 8 to 13 weeks at the beginning of every school year for teachers to get their students back up to speed and ready to learn the new grade’s material.” (Lynch). In a traditional calendar, schools take two months of their year to re-learn material from the former year, meaning that they lose those months instead of learning content that they do not yet know, which can set them behind. With year round school, students do not forget as much, and they do not need to take as much time to review, resulting in the ability to learn more. Additionally, students can receive necessary or wanted help from teachers who “are required to be on campus year-round, struggling students have access to regular tutoring and support they otherwise would not have in the summer months” (“Should We Consider”). Students who need or want help can get it from teachers who are at the school consistently, and they can seek assistance almost whenever they need it. They do not need to pay extra for a tutor when they can ask their teachers for help with assignments or the concepts they are learning. Furthermore, students are less likely to drop out and statistics show that “the national dropout rate is 5 percent, while the dropout rate for year-round school students is just 2 percent” (Lynch). Other studies show that while year-round schooling has positive effects on “all students, proponents highlight the benefits for low-income students: They tend to do better in year-round schools” (“Should We Consider”). Students who attend year round schools are less likely to want to drop out because they do not really get the taste of a longer break, and opt to stay in school. Children from a struggling family can gain access to material and help that they cannot access in the summer months.They end up doing better academically because of this available assistance and the greater amount of material they can cover. A balanced school calendar is quite beneficial to students academically, although many do not share this sentiment. 

Those on the other side of this argument believe that students need time to just be kids, and they would be burnt out if school was all year long. They believe that year-round school is detrimental, and say that “when it comes to younger students, time off in the summer months is a vital component of healthy development” (Lynch). It is believed that the summer months are to be spent recovering from the nine months of straight school. While this might be the case, it is important to note that “in year-round schools, kids attend classes for six to nine weeks at a time, with two- to four-week breaks” (“Should We Consider”). In the end, both types of school calendars have the same amount of days in school and on break, but a balanced school calendar’s breaks are spread out more evenly. This means that kids do have the time they need for breaks, they just occur at different times of the year. Year round schooling actually relieves the burnout of a nine months straight of school, and can be extremely beneficial. What is more is that the “‘down time’ of the summer months is really just empty time, often void of anything academically or developmentally advantageous” (Lynch). The traditional three month long summer break can provide a needed break for both children and teachers, but most of that time is spent doing activities that are not specific to the longer break and can be done throughout the year on the other break times. Year round school has the same time off of school, and kids do have the time off they need, despite what others say.

Both students and academic staff can benefit from a year round school calendar. They have better bonds with each other and this results in a better learning environment, and higher academic achievements in students.  A stronger educational system is the foundation of the future, and year round school presents an opportunity to make it even stronger. It is time to face it: year round schooling is the textbook answer to academic excellence.