This paper presents findings of a study that examined the impact of year-round education on academic achievement in a large Utah school district. Student-achievement data for years 1990-95 were compared by type of school schedule. A case-study component examined the impact of school schedules used by two elementary schools--one adhered to a…

The School Board of Virginia Beach has conducted a two-year pilot program focusing on elementary school students who attend school 45 days and break 15 days year round. Four principal questions were proposed and researched by various independent agencies: (1) What effect does the 45-15 cycled-attendance year-round operation have on pupil…

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…

In August 1993 the Des Moines (Iowa) community created a new type of neighborhood school by placing an elementary school close to where the parents work, rather than where they live. This school, the Downtown School, serves a diverse community of students, emphasizes parental involvement, and implements current research in education. This report…

Elementary schools are continuously growing in student population. The increase in student population requires innovative management practices aimed at uniting and furthering progress within school sites. While the increase in student enrollment coupled with growth in staff can be challenging, possibilities of seamless transitions of practice can…

Noting that the growing popularity of year-round schools (extended calendar without increasing the number of school days) has coincided with an increase in school accountability, this report provides a descriptive case study on one year-round school located within a large elementary school district in central Virginia. An optional year-round…

Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore (Maryland) is a school that is exemplary by virtue of its efforts to build on the strengths of students and the community. Although it is not yet a model of curriculum or instruction, it operates in an ethical and theoretical framework with much to say to the urban educator. The school, which serves…

Students' experiences of daily classroom activities and the larger school context were studied at the Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, Baltimore (Maryland). Coleman is an inner-city school serving about 500 African American children in prekindergarten through grade 5. The school is organized into three campuses--primary, "Coleman"…

An evaluation was conducted to provide formative information about the pilot implementation of year-round education in three 3 Monday In Orange County, the 180-day calendar was divided into three Monday through Friday 12-week sessions separated by 3-week breaks. A multitrack design (five tracks of students, with four in school at any one time) was…

In 1972-73 Grant Elementary School began the first year-round school in Utah. The program involves changes for teachers and students, and increases both in the number of school days and teachers' salaries. Each teacher has one-fourth more students than the average classroom in the community; each teacher has one-fourth more days (45) in which to…

The research described in this paper was conducted over a 4-year period at Orangecrest Elementary School, a new school in a Southern California urban district, which adopted Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) at its inception. ITI, developed by Susan Kovalik, is a tightly structured program based on the idea of year-long themes which are broken…

Designed to help K-6 educators create child-centered classrooms in which all children can learn and succeed, this resource book contains article reprints, handouts, and reproducible pages pertaining to effective instruction. The book is organized into six subject areas: (1) learning/school readiness and kindergarten (including school improvement,…