Teachers consider year-round education
April 26, 2010 —
Graduates in education are unlikely to find themselves working in year-round school environments — unless they plan on working in other states.
According to the National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE), a year-round curriculum reorganizes the traditional calendar by redistributing some summer vacation days. This results in “shorter, more frequent vacation throughout the year.”
The association lists only five Michigan schools going year-round. The balanced calendar is more common in states such as California, which has about 270 listed schools, and Arizona, which has about 80.
So why are so few Michigan schools in session year-round compared to the number on the traditional calendar? In a special report for The Center for Michigan, Chris Andrews suggests that Michigan law discourages year-round education.
“The Legislature enacted a law several years ago that bans schools from starting before Labor Day, a response to tourism industry complaints that earlier starts were costing them business,” he writes. “Yearround schools must get a waiver from the Department of Education to open sooner.”
The city of Jackson’s Hunt Elementary School could be joining the ranks of balanced calendar