The cost-effective management of instructional programs and facilities will continue to be a fundamental educational issue in the 21st century. This handbook discusses issues to be considered in assessing the cost effectiveness of year-round education (YRE). YRE has the potential to enhance student retention of material, reduce teacher and student…

Advantages and examples of year-round education are discussed in this publication. Advantages include instructional benefits, relief from overcrowding, savings on operational and capital costs, increased teacher flexibility, improved attendance, and reduced vandalism. Guidelines for implementation, calendar design, and descriptions of various…

The costs and benefits of Year Round Education (YRE), a system in which students have short, staggered vacation periods, so that only a subgroup of students are attending school at any one time, were explored by the Provo (Utah) City School District. In an effort to accommodate a growing number of students without building additional classrooms,…

This report reviews projected enrollment growth of the three segments of higher education in California: the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC). The report concludes that in order to serve the enrollment growth of the next decade, the three segments should move to…

Although inclusiveness is the U.S. school system's strongest feature, more is seldom better. This article recommends raising standards and expectations, focusing on outcomes, stressing effort over ability and teacher competence over seniority, individualizing instruction, breaking the age/grade link, expanding year-round learning and early…

This cost analysis reports on a year-round education program in the Oxnard School District, California. Twelve of the district's 15 K-8 schools are maintained on four staggered year-round education tracks; a fifth track offers the traditional calendar to two schools. Year-round education was implemented in 1976 to accommodate a sudden increase in…

This report details the technical aspects of a 1983 evaluation of Year-Round Schools (YRS) in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is part of a combined effort to assess voluntary integration programs and is designed to inform the district's policy-makers on the progress the district has made in relieving the harms of racial isolation. A…

Effective schools research, as elaborated by R. R. Edmonds and others, gives a picture of what successful urban schools look like and helps identify the characteristics that led to success. This paper offers the proposition that looking at a school as a caring community provides a way to show effective schools by providing a framework to make…

This document describes studies and other evidence supporting year-round education (YRE) in elementary and secondary schools. Included are six newspaper and journal clippings describing the benefits of YRE schools. The document also quotes from test and survey results that indicate that students who are enrolled in YRE programs learn and retain…

This collection of 29 unusual and interesting articles in 19 chapters addresses the issues of urban education from several provocative angles. The book outlines how cultural traditions of minority groups can be the fulcrum for positive educational change, and the special challenges of growing up as a male from a minority background. Some articles…

How one public school used its diversity to foster community, while protecting itself from exclusivity, was studied. This study challenges the assumption that a community-like ethos is impossible in an urban neighborhood public school that has no special admissions requirements. Case study methodology, with almost 250 hours of observation of…

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas) has been involved in year-round education for 5 years. In 1995-96, 11 elementary schools and 1 middle school had adopted the year-round plan. In all schools, the plan is a single-track plan, so that all students and all teachers have the same schedule, in which students are in school for…

Drawing on 14 case studies, this article examines reforms and innovative strategies affecting quantity and quality of time usage, and the potential of nonschool educators to complement and expand youngsters' learning opportunities. Many successful programs offer students less classroom time. Some residential programs for dropouts and poor minority…

The independent Citizens' Commission on Planning for Enrollment Growth for New York City has concluded that the school system is experiencing explosive enrollment growth, and that current strategies are incapable of dealing with this growth. The only way to forestall a crisis is to increase classroom space significantly. Given current demographic…

Intended to provide background information and preliminary policy options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document explores the advantages and costs of shifting to year-round operations to increase college capacity and reduce the need for new facilities. Following introductory materials detailing the…