OKC Schools Go Year-Round

[sooner59]

Any opinions? I was happy with my long summer break, but longer breaks during the year sound good as well. Do we make up ground on the Chinese?

http://www.koco.com/education/26122939/detail.html

[OUHOMER]

Seems like if we had it, i wouldn't have gotten in so much trouble.

but than again, i probably would have anyway

[Frozen Sooner]

Like it. Kids, particularly in low-income families, lose a ton of ground over the summer break.

[Turd_Ferguson]

Two 2 week breaks and one 3 week break plus 2 months out during the summer??

meh.



Students still will attend the same number of school days, 173, with the school calendar starting on August 1 and featuring two-week breaks in October and March, a three-week break in December and a three-day break for Thanksgiving (http://www.newsok.com/keysearch/?er=1&CANONICAL=Thanksgiving&CATEGORY=MISC).
The last day of school will be June 1.


Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-school-boad-adopts-new-calendar/article/3523414#ixzz185gX9AYN

[olevetonahill]

Yea that dont sound like year round to me.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

When I was a school teacher, it was nice to be able to get a summer job to earn extra money. I wouldn't like it.

It makes it difficult for some families to cover child care for two week periods in the fall and spring.

We've had it in some nearby districts where I live in California. It doesn't make any difference with respect to academic achievement.

My son is going to a six week summer pre-college program in San Francisco next summer. If his school were on the year-around schedule he couldn't do it.

[Ike]

Thats almost the kind of school I'd want to put my kid into.

Now, if we can just get them to add 30% more days...And then do that in other areas than OKC.

[The]

Not reading article because I don't click links.

Do the teachers get a raise?

[virginiasooner]

It's long past time to move to a post-industrial education model and have year-round schooling. Why this country still uses an agrarian model is beyond me. Make the school year longer, not the school day.

[knxsnr]

I would assume the teachers do not get a raise, they are teaching the same number of days per year. My wife teaches year round in Tennessee and loves it. We get to travel in the fall, winter, spring, and summer if we like. Before we were held to only long breaks in the summer. Not the best time to be in many places around the globe.

One negative is the loss of the summer work she used to get in Oklahoma but that really didn't make that much money and was to keep her from getting bored at home in the summer. Not a bad switch off.

The schedule for OKC schools really doesn't look like a true year-round but it's close. I would think most kids and families would be okay with that transition.

[pphilfran]

Go year round...half the kids go to a morning session and the other half goes to the afternoon session...

You would not need to build any new schools for a period of time and would save much needed money...in fact you could probably close some schools down and lower costs even further...

[OULenexaman]

It's long past time to move to a post-industrial education model and have year-round schooling. Why this country still uses an agrarian model is beyond me. Make the school year longer, not the school day.

I always thought the reason behind that model was due to the summer heat. No schools had a/c until the 80's...

[pphilfran]

I always thought the reason behind that model was due to the summer heat. No schools had a/c until the 80's...

Less to do with air conditioning and more to do with getting kids freed up to work the farm...

[The]

White Water's gonna be pissed.

[Aldebaran]

No doubt... Big Water Sport is gonna go after the OKC public schools.

[Sooner_Bob]

Like it. Kids, particularly in low-income families, lose a ton of ground over the summer break.

This.

My wife teaches some of these kids and they spend the first couple of weeks just learning rules and procedures, etc.

[Thaumaturge]

Just make the dumb kids go year-round.

[badger]

It seems everyone has already pointed out that a year does not equal 10 months, but I wonder how some farm families are taking this news. I mean, isn't that why our school year is standardized to have summers off in the first place?

And yeah, White Water Bay might hate this, but perhaps schools will get discount days to take a day outta the classroom and go swimming. You know, fight obesity and get active... hey, they're gonna use any excuse to get out of a stuffy classroom on a nice day :D

[hipsterdoofus]

I think it will require a lot of adjustment but don't know that it is necessarily bad. I don't know that it will fix crappy schools or teachers either...but it may help some kids out.


It seems everyone has already pointed out that a year does not equal 10 months, but I wonder how some farm families are taking this news. I mean, isn't that why our school year is standardized to have summers off in the first place?

Does OKC have a lot of farm families? I wouldn't think many...

[The]

I think it will require a lot of adjustment but don't know that it is necessarily bad. I don't know that it will fix crappy schools or teachers either...but it may help some kids out.



Does OKC have a lot of farm families? I wouldn't think many...

Pot is a big cash crop.

[Sooner_Bob]

It seems everyone has already pointed out that a year does not equal 10 months, but I wonder how some farm families are taking this news. I mean, isn't that why our school year is standardized to have summers off in the first place?

And yeah, White Water Bay might hate this, but perhaps schools will get discount days to take a day outta the classroom and go swimming. You know, fight obesity and get active... hey, they're gonna use any excuse to get out of a stuffy classroom on a nice day :D

I think you're confusing the OKC metro with western Oklahoma . . . not a ton of farming families in OKC. A few, but not as many as in the western part of the state.

[setem]

No doubt... Big Water Sport is gonna go after the OKC public schools.


Man that will be a terrible mess too!

As a American Legion Baseball Coach....I HATE THIS! I won't have any city kids this year anyway so no worries!

[hipsterdoofus]

I was thinking of how it would screw up some family's vacations but my wife pointed out how families could take vacations in the fall and spring now easier too.

[Sooner_Bob]

I was thinking of how it would screw up some family's vacations but my wife pointed out how families could take vacations in the fall and spring now easier too.

Off-season FTW . . . or something.

[Sooner_Bob]

As a American Legion Baseball Coach....I HATE THIS! I won't have any city kids this year anyway so no worries!

Didn't even consider that . . . legion ball would definitely have to change something.

[Viking Kitten]

When I was a school teacher, it was nice to be able to get a summer job to earn extra money. I wouldn't like it.

It makes it difficult for some families to cover child care for two week periods in the fall and spring.

We've had it in some nearby districts where I live in California. It doesn't make any difference with respect to academic achievement.

My son is going to a six week summer pre-college program in San Francisco next summer. If his school were on the year-around schedule he couldn't do it.

Wouldn't the increased costs of childcare in the spring and fall be offset by reduced costs in the summer?

Regarding academic achievement, the OKC schools that have already gone to this schedule have in fact shown improved test scores.

OKC students will get a two-month break in the summer. That's certainly long enough to complete any summer study opportunities.

I wish Edmond schools would hurry up and do this too. Since we have air conditioned classrooms and few kids harvesting wheat in June, I would guess it's probably not too far off.

[Sooner_Bob]

I wish Edmond schools would hurry up and do this too. Since we have air conditioned classrooms and few kids harvesting wheat in June, I would guess it's probably not too far off.

Don't you think that the rest of the metro districts will almost be forced to do this? Especially when OKC has teachers who have kids that may go to another district . . .

[hipsterdoofus]

Don't you think that the rest of the metro districts will almost be forced to do this? Especially when OKC has teachers who have kids that may go to another district . . .

I was wondering the same thing. I don't really have much issue with it except that my family has had a tradition of taking the week following memorial day for vacation...

[badger]

Yeah, I was thinking that OKC was taking the lead on this, hoping to inspire change statewide. I realize OKC is not as much of a cowtown as Tulsans would like to believe, but as funds for education shrink (stimulus funds just put off the inevitable), district will consolidate with... yeah, bigger districts like OKC.

[OUMallen]

Costs go *UP* for AC in the Oklahoma summer.

[The]

We should be building prisons, not schools.

[Sooner_Bob]

We should be building prisons, not schools.

:texan:

[Viking Kitten]

Don't you think that the rest of the metro districts will almost be forced to do this? Especially when OKC has teachers who have kids that may go to another district . . .

That's what I am thinking. Guessing we'll see a domino effect within the next two to three years.

[PrideTrombone]

Yeah, I was thinking that OKC was taking the lead on this, hoping to inspire change statewide. I realize OKC is not as much of a cowtown as Tulsans would like to believe, but as funds for education shrink (stimulus funds just put off the inevitable), district will consolidate with... yeah, bigger districts like OKC.

I doubt any other districts are going to be falling all over themselves to join up with OKC Public. Financially, districts like Deer Creek, Piedmont, Yukon, Mustang, Edmond, etc. are already growing and aren't going to need a support system by joining a larger district. Whether or not the suburban districts go to a "year-round" (this really isn't year round) model probably depends on parent input for each individual district. Some of the suburban districts align themselves with the calendars for the Vo-Techs that they send kids to as well, which might make a difference in that decision.

[royalfan5]

It seems everyone has already pointed out that a year does not equal 10 months, but I wonder how some farm families are taking this news. I mean, isn't that why our school year is standardized to have summers off in the first place?

And yeah, White Water Bay might hate this, but perhaps schools will get discount days to take a day outta the classroom and go swimming. You know, fight obesity and get active... hey, they're gonna use any excuse to get out of a stuffy classroom on a nice day :D

Modern Mechanical Agriculture really doesn't need kids for labor like it used too.

[GDC]

Until recently,in Sweden kids didn't start school until they were 8 years old. This was based on old law meant to protect them from being eaten by wolves as they walked through the woods to school.

[ouwasp]

The school district I teach in is considering going to year-round in the "far future"... hopefully this will be in about 5-7 yrs; after I retire ;) ...

I can see the benefits to it, but it would cause havoc w/ my summer job.... and I'm glad I'm not coaching football anymore... can you imagine the hassles those men will have to deal with?

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Wouldn't the increased costs of childcare in the spring and fall be offset by reduced costs in the summer?

Regarding academic achievement, the OKC schools that have already gone to this schedule have in fact shown improved test scores.

OKC students will get a two-month break in the summer. That's certainly long enough to complete any summer study opportunities.

I wish Edmond schools would hurry up and do this too. Since we have air conditioned classrooms and few kids harvesting wheat in June, I would guess it's probably not too far off.

1. For some the cost may not be different. But when one district has a different schedule than the other districts then fewer options will be available. For example, if one depended on a cousin who goes to a high school or is in college to provide day care for young kids, then that option may no longer be available in the fall and spring breaks. Also many summer programs may overlap with either the front end or back end of the school year. That was the example I gave. My son would miss the last two weeks of the pre-college program he intends to go to, if he went to school in this other district. More generally, summer school has fewer degrees of freedom in two months. On top of that, arranging day care for one continuous period may be easier than arranging it for three disjoint periods.

2. I certainly hope the bump in achievement generalizes district-wide. What I've seen where I live is an achievement bump every time they make any kind of change and then it reverts to the norm. Maybe some type of Hawthorne/novelty Effect.

[Midtowner]

It's the same number of days, so I don't see how it really improves things. We're only talking about what--reducing Summer by 2 weeks on both ends and adding a week of break in Spring and Fall?

This seems more like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic than any real solution to anything.

[The]

Until recently,in Sweden kids didn't start school until they were 8 years old. This was based on old law meant to protect them from being eaten by wolves as they walked through the woods to school.

We need moar wolves.

[NormanPride]

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld3f0qEaIy1qesmjuo1_400.jpg

[thecynic]

it's the OKC school district. you can't polish a turd.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Lipstick on an ugly pig ain't going to fix it. OKC schools are beyond broke. Year-round schools ain't gonna do didly when parents don't see fit to enforce rules at home and make children see the benefit of an education.

[The]

Lipstick on an ugly pig ain't going to fix it. OKC schools are beyond broke. Year-round schools ain't gonna do didly when parents don't see fit to enforce rules at home and make children see the benefit of an education.

So, your solution is to do nothing.

It's Super Effective!

[stoopified]

Glad I didn't have to go to school in August.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

So, your solution is to do nothing.

It's Super Effective!

No, its to stop letting stupid and incompetent people have kids they can't support, have no clue to bring up and are not there to teach and punish said children.

[The]

No, its to stop letting stupid and incompetent people have kids they can't support, have no clue to bring up and are not there to teach and punish said children.

Eugenics!

ProTip: This board would be nearly empty under a healthy eugenics regimen.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Eugenics!

It may be the answer to some questions...

[saucysoonergal]

It may be the answer to some questions...

It worked well for the third reich. :rolleyes:

[DIB]

It worked well for the third reich. :rolleyes:

It would have if they had gone after the right group of people (stupid people).

[Frozen Sooner]

It would have if they had gone after the right group of people (stupid people).

The problem with a eugenics program that goes after stupid people is that it breaks down right after they get rid of all the people who advocate for eugenics programs.