The testimony presented covers the conception and implementation of an all-year-round schools program--the Valley View 45-15 Plan--under which plan, students attend school 45 days and are absent from school for 15 days on rotating shifts the year round. In the testimony, the characteristics of the Valley View District are described, the rationale…

Recalls the problems encountered and the solutions offered when a school district put 1100 middle school students on a year-round schedule. Discovered an enormous benefit in class size reduction accompanied by daunting challenges involving scheduling and logistics. Includes a chart illustrating the rotational schedule of the orchestra. (MJP)

This feasibility study was designed to gather and analyze data to determine the potential cost-effectiveness of year-round education (YRE) compared to traditional-schedule education in California. An expanded version of the Stanford Research Institute's cost model was used to fit a broad conceptualization that enabled school districts with…

The trustees and administrators of the Oxnard School District, which currently serves approximately 12,000 students, recognized as early as 1970 that additional school sites had to be acquired and new schools constructed to accommodate a very substantial increase in student enrollment. Oxnard is located in one of the nation's fastest growing…

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…

To provide educators with a compilation of available data on the implementation and operation of year-round programs, this publication incorporates reviews of evaluative studies conducted by six year-round programs: the Prince William County, Virginia, 45-15 Plan; the Valley View, Illinois, School District, 45-15 Plan; the Dade County, Florida,…

On the basis of a needs assessment conducted by the Phoenix Union High School District a proposal for partial Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title III funding was submitted in January, 1972. Goals for Year Round Schools for Phoenix were: (1) to provide a specially designed curriculum and a uniquely trained staff for the twelve month…

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…

Planning for conversion to a year-round school in James Monroe School, Madera, California, began in 1984 as educators and community faced the fact that continued enrollment increases had reached a critical point. This report describes program development and implementation; an appendix with program worksheets comprises over one-half of the…

Recent research shows no significant educational benefits from providing summer schools, extended school years, or year-round schooling to disadvantaged students. However, the severe educational difficulties faced by these students, combined with the many practical reasons for deviating from the traditional school year, are strong reasons why…

Reasons for the present emphasis on all-year operation of schools differ from those prevailing 30-40 years ago. During the depression emphasis was on economy. Recently, a more sensible reason for an extended school year is coming into focus--the year-round school has educational value. It is not just something to be considered in order to save…

This bulletin discusses approaches that reformers are using nationwide to bring about improvement in urban schools. It focuses on (1) embracing more choices (school vouchers, charter schools, private management, public school transfers, home schooling, enrolling high school students in community colleges, and virtual education); (2) holding…

This book attempts to serve as a compendium and a chronology of secondary education in the United States, taking a broad rather than a narrow approach and touching on a great many topics and issues. Chapters 1 and 2 present a history of secondary schools and a discussion of adolescence. Chapter 3 discusses curriculum in secondary schools,…

This collection of papers examines prior and current research and policy on grade repetition and social promotion. Papers include: "Where Is Lake Wobegon, Anyway? The Controversy Surrounding Social Promotion" (Richard Rothstein); "Student Retention: Why Is There a Gap between the Majority of Research Findings and School…

The Texas legislature and the State Board of Education, recognizing the need for an alternative to student retention, established the Retention Reduction Pilot Program to provide additional days of instruction for students in first grade who would otherwise have been retained. The Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP) was initiated to expand…