Pitkoff Reports On Concerns About Year-Round Schooling

By laurie Borst

At the Board of Education meeting on June 19, Superintendent Evan Pitkoff shared the results of research he has done into the topic of year-round schooling.

 Legislative Councilman Joseph DiCandido had raised the possibility that moving the high school to a year-round school model could alleviate the overcrowding issues at the high school.

Dr Pitkoff summarized his research into the matter in a memorandum to the school board, which he presented Tuesday evening.

The superintendent found that two basic types of calendars for year-round schooling are used: single track and multitrack. With the single-track plan, all students and personnel follow the same instructional periods and vacation schedule. With the multitrack option, students and teachers are divided into four of five groups, each with its own school and vacation calendar that enables one group to be on vacation when the other groups are attending school.

Year-round schooling has been touted as providing such advantages as increasing the capacity of school buildings by 25 to 30 percent, yielding smaller class sizes, intersessions can provide opportunities for remedial work, and opportunities for additional salary for faculty and staff, Dr Pitkoff reported.

There are many concerns that year-round schooling raises, academic, organizational, and cost related. There is no convincing evidence, the report stated, that academic gains result from a multitrack system. There could be test-scheduling problems for students wishing to take Advanced Placement courses. CAPT testing takes place in March. One group of students would not be in school at that time.

Elective choices, i.e., auto mechanics, power tech, video production, culinary or child development, become limited due to staffing availability. Frequent learning breaks lead to more review time when classes resume.

From an organizational perspective, Dr Pitkoff continued, the district would have to negotiate changes in the teachers’ and paraprofessionals’ contracts. Teachers would not have dedicated classrooms. Athletic programs and activities such as marching band would be affected. Students and teachers who coach may find activities continue even though they are on intersession.

As the current proposal has been suggested for the high school only, families would experience significant disruption to vacation schedules, summer camps, and child care. If the elementary, intermediate, and middle schools do not follow the same calendar, a family might have a high school student on vacation while the rest of the family is in school, Dr Pitkoff pointed out.

With the high school expansion work being scheduled during the summers, students attending year-round would be disturbed by the noise generated by construction. Maintenance and cleaning would be affected as summer is the time that extensive cleaning takes place. Floors are stripped and rewaxed, carpets are shampooed. These projects could not be completed over weekends the superintendent explained.

From a cost perspective, the district would need buses all year. More staff would be needed. Utilities usage increases. There is additional wear and tear on the existing structure.

“The notion that this should be implemented to defer the inevitable need for expansion of the high school will lead to a higher price tag for construction,” Dr Pitkoff wrote. “It is not likely to be a concept supported by our community.”

Dr Pitkoff recommended the creation of a study committee with educators, parents, board members, community members, and high school students to determine the viability of year-round schooling should the board decide to pursue this option.