Year-Round School
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Year-Round School |
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Table of Contents
The debate over year-round schools has been raging for several years. Some school systems have migrated from the traditional agrarian calendar to one that divides the school year into terms utilizing several shorter vacation periods rather than the long summer recess. The debate over this issue is often heated and divisive among school patrons. In this exercise, the town of Smallville is considering changing to a year-round school calendar. The Board of School Trustees will make the final decision based on input from various groups within the community describing how the decision will effect them.
The class will divide into five groups: School Board, Parents, Students, Teachers, and General Townspeople. Each group will research the topic using the noted sites on the Internet as well as any additional sites or outside sources the group deems appropriate. The group will be responsible for creating a written document that outlines its position on the question and the necessary justification for that position. Each member of the group will attach a listing of the sources he/she personally reviewed, what information the sources offered, and how that information effected his/her position. There will be a group grade and an individual grade for each person. The groups are to be divided evenly with the exception of the School Board which will have five people. Those volunteering to be on the School Board will receive 25 additional points because that group must research ALL areas of the question. At the conclusion of the exercise, the School Board must render a decision that will effect the entire school system and indeed the community as a whole.
Divide into the named groups as prescribed above.
Discuss within each group the initial positions the group will take.
Organize the group’s research efforts.
Conduct the research.
Write the group’s position document.
Write individual research summaries.
Create a presentation to make before the School Board which is based on the documented research.
The National Association for Year-Round Educatio
Cost-effectiveness of Year Round Schooling, An Annotated Bibliography and Synthesis of the Research, by Charlie Naylor , May 1995.
Do Year Round Schools Improve Student Learning? An Annotated Bibliography and Synthesis of the Research, by Charlie Naylor, May 1995.
Efficiency Scheduling in B.C.—An Update, by Charlie Naylor, October 1997
School Organization Alternatives: A Consideration of Year Round, Shift and Extended Day Options, by Dale Gregory, 1996.
Year-Round Schooling—An Annotated Bibliography, BCTF Resources Centre, May 1994.
Year-Round Education: Is it Worth the Hassle?, by Charlie Naylor, 1996.
Do not "skimp" on your resources. There are many resources besides the ones listed above.
Each person should be encouraged to formulate his/her own opinion, i.e. the parents or teachers would probably not all have the same opinion. Would a math teacher and a band director have the same opinion? What would the coaching staff think of this idea? That is fine, just be sure and support the opinion with documented material.
Townspeople should be diverse. Local merchants, golf course/country club managers, camp couonselors, farmers, police, etc. Each of these types might have a different opinion.
When creating the presentation for the School Board, use any and all presentation tools at your disposal. PowerPoint, Hyper Studio, overhead transparencies, etc. We live in a world where effective communication is important!
Avoid letting personal bias about "summer time" cloud the logical conclusion derived from the available resources.
Finally, be sure to apply the information from the resources to the Town of Smallville and the effect the decision will have on the students and other townspeople involved.
Total 100 pts. (School Board 125 pts.)
25 pts. Daily participation
50 pts. Written research results
50 pts. School Board member’s written research results
25pts. Presentation