Year-long schedules can eliminate summer learning loss. Year-round schools also benefit students with varied learning needs, provide intersession remediation and enrichment opportunities, help second-language students learn English, maintain student interest in learning, feature ongoing extracurricular activities, and offer periodic staff…

Studies suggest that disadvantaged and migrant students suffer more from retention losses during nonschooling time. Strategies to reduce forgetting include providing year-round schools, shifting supplementary education services to nonschool periods, and reshaping the curriculum to focus on complex and meaningful tasks. (MLF)

A Yuma (Arizona) elementary school district discovered that year-round schooling is doable, if the community is ready. Before proceeding, superintendents should do their homework, involve the community, form a support group to solidify acceptance, rally colleagues, develop a multiyear implementation plan, collect data on issues raised in the…

A followup study surveyed 79 principals of year-round, multitrack California elementary schools. YRE principal persistence between 1993 and 1998 was lower than that of counterparts in traditional-schedule schools. YRE schools need increased administrative support; their principals need stress management strategies. (Contains 14 references.) (MLH)

Discusses year-round education (YRE) as a voluntary philosophical orientation within school districts. Presents a group of common organizational patterns that schools throughout the nation have successfully developed when implementing voluntary YRE programs. Includes discussion of the academic and scheduling benefits of YRE programs. (MD)

The September-June calendar makes little sense instructionally or academically, as it was designed for the agricultural economy of the early 1800s. This article suggests that year-round education, originally a response to overcrowding, can benefit students' learning process, increase attendance, and reduce vandalism and instructional costs per…

For the Oxnard (California) School District--expected shortly to become the second fastest growing in the United States--year-round education is both cost and educationally effective. Three year-round program analyses, other cost benefits, and improvement in student achievement are outlined in terms of comparable data for traditional schools. (KS)

Compares sixth-graders' math and reading achievement at year-round and traditional schools in the same (Ohio) school district. Uses a randomized, control-group, posttest-only method controlling for the effects of history maturation and pretesting. The statistical and practical results favor the alternative year-round calendar, particularly when…

Presents strategies for solving 13 common personnel problems that frequently emerge with the implementation of year-round schools. Issues focus on staffing and working conditions. (MLF)

Many concepts forming the foundation of the outdoor/experiential learning movement have parallels in Native American traditions. The National Indian Youth Leadership Program focuses on key Native American values such as family commitment, service to others, spiritual awareness, challenge, meaningful roles, recognition, responsibility, natural…

Discusses various year-round education plans, their effect on student achievement and dropout rates, and their advantages and disadvantages. If a year-round schedule is to be successful, all parties, including parents, must be involved in the planning process. An 18-month planning period and clearly defined goals and objectives are essential. (17…

This article reviews research on mathematics learning and forgetting, especially for students with learning and other disabilities. It notes the important role of mathematical language and the substantial loss of mathematics achievement over the summer vacation. Year-round schooling is encouraged to eliminate prolonged interruptions in…

Year-round education is an essential component of California public education. Through creative calendar planning, space utilization is being increased by 25 to 50 percent, depending on the selected configuration. Although growth remains the driving force, there is increasing acceptance of the learning, employment, and lifestyle benefits of…

Explores the politics of time in a multitrack, year-round school in Los Angeles (California), analyzing different experiences of time within the school and the largely immigrant community. Findings show that the year-round schedule is problematic and reveal how issues of educational equity go to the core of debates over school schedules. (SLD)

Confronting low student performance, staff at a central California elementary school tackled curriculum-alignment problems; identified available instructional, support, information, and human-resource processes; and dealt with the language issue. The school's "Student Portfolio and Assessment System" helped teachers discover feasible…