Year-Round Schooling in Florida: A Pilot Program for Selected Schools

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A plan which has kicked around for years, if not decades, to have children stay in school year round, will get a chance to be tested this year in several schools in Gainesville, Florida. The pilot program will begin year-round starting in July.

According to Alachua County Schools, Students at Metcalfe Elementary, Rawling Elementary, and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School have been selected to first try the plan.

Marion county schools will also be a part of the program, which will run through 2029.

Many arguments for and against the idea have floated over the years. One argument against is the high cost of air conditioning in summer in:central Florida, as well as higher maintenance costs for continuous occupation of education buildings. Even colleges and universities close for the summer in most cases, although special programs, and especially sports, sometimes continue.

Students often get summer jobs, which provides a different sort of education in itself. There could also be issues with working parents providing child care for shorter breaks, and added strain for after school activities attendance.

Pros include consistent sports schedules, (always the primary consideration in education, in my opinion.) No gaps in learning for students, (or overload from no breaks, ask anyone who works) and reduced classroom sizes. (Not sure how?)

Other possible arguments for include less absenteeism of both teachers and students, and more time to provide needed extra help for student learning.

Ultimately, in my opinion, young people are not 40 hour employees (yet) and need time to be children, if such an opportunity still exists in our frenzied world.

It will be interesting to see how the experiment succeeds, and who makes the judgement?