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The Year Round School Model Essay

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The Year-Round School Model The issue of year-round schools is not a new one, nor is it without its supporters and detractors. Each camp can either logically defend its views on the viability and success of year-round schools or can argue against it equally articulately. How did America arrive at the point when the discussion of year-round schools is again a critical issue in education, and more importantly, will such a radical change to the education system be possible?
The History of the School Calendar
Since the early days of the American one-room schoolhouse in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, students stayed out of school during the critical farming months, but contrary to popular belief, the months which students missed school were not the summer months. In an agrarian community, crucial months on a farm are in the spring and fall, during planting and harvest. In fact, students spent more time in school during the summer months (PBS NewsHour, Sept 7, 2014). according to historian Kenneth Gold (2014) the school calendar as we know it has more to do with nineteenth century school reform which worked to provide a nationwide standardized calendar than the needs of farming families. The choice of a long summer break was driven more by the sweltering heat in urban environments before the days of air conditioning when the wealthy could leave the city for cooler county air. The results of this school calendar reform look much the same today as they did then. Students are in

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