School’s not out for summer if policymakers get their way

Can a shorter summer break eventually lead to more college graduates? That’s the long-term strategy behind efforts to convert some struggling high-poverty schools to a year-round calendar.

Gov. Rick Snyder and legislators on both sides of the aisle are working together to provide funding to add air conditioning to schools so the buildings can be used during the summer.
Kids attending those year-round schools would be in class the same number of days, but those days would be spread across 12 months, rather than the traditional September-through-June school year.

The $2 million pilot program would only help a handful of high-poverty schools. But it may be expanded if the year-round programs prove to be successful at improving learning, said Craig Ruff, education policy advisor to the governor.

“We need to monitor its effectiveness,” Ruff said. “And then, hopefully, it becomes a role model.”

The state is scrambling to find ways to rev up Michigan’s struggling schools. Michigan students score below the national average in most categories of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

By Labor Day, students typically forget some of the lessons they learned the previous school year. On average, students lose about two months of math skills during the summer.

Teachers often must spend September re-teaching skills that were lost during the summer months. Summer learning loss is particularly acute among low-income children. “Our most at-risk students are usually in low-income families where the parents can’t afford educational summer opportunities, or are in communities where these opportunities don’t exist,” said Rep. Andy Schor, D-Lansing, the main sponsor of House Bill 4982.

“These students are more likely to be behind at the beginning of the school year, which … makes it increasingly difficult to catch up as the year progresses. Splitting up the school year with more frequent breaks allows students who are behind more chances to catch up.”

Read a Q&A with Schor.

About 30 school districts and charters are experimenting with year-round schedules now, such as Croswell-Lexington Community Schools, where the year-round program has been wildly popular.

In a typical year-round calendar, schools are in session for nine weeks, then off three weeks.
Snyder advocated for funding for year-round schools in his State of the State address in January, and has coordinated efforts with Schor and other legislators.

Under the legislation, low-income school districts can apply to the Michigan Department of Education for cash to add air conditioning to a building. In exchange, the districts agree to convert the building to a year-round calendar for at least three years.

The bill was voted out of the House Appropriations Committee last week, and now moves to the full House for consideration. If the bill is approved by the House and Senate and signed by Snyder, more year-round schools could be open by this fall.

Nationally, the academic impact of year-round schools has been mixed. Michigan hasn’t tracked the academic record of year-round students versus traditional calendar students. Still, with Michigan’s academic rankings dropping nationally, the Republican governor and the Democratic representative believe it’s worth a shot.

“Teachers love it because they will have refreshed students and won’t have to re-teach information,” Schor said. “Parents love it because it will better the educational experience of their children. There is ample time for vacations throughout the year, and now this time is also available in low travel cost seasons instead of summer and holiday seasons, when gas and air travel gets expensive.”