If schools went to a full year schedule....

[loribell]

If schools did adopt a balanced schedule - it would likely vary from system to system slightly - much in the way that spring break currently varies. I don't see how point values could be adjusted much. Chrsitmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving will always be insanely popular times to travel.

The schedule would likely look something like this:

August - Start date at some point
October - 1-2 Week Break at some point
December - 2 Week Break
February - 1-2 Week Break at some point
April - 1-2 Week Break at Some point
June/July - 6-8 Week Break.

(and as a career teacher - I would LOVE something like this!!!)

I have actually began to think that it would be nice for the school year to be something like 9 weeks on & 4 weeks off. That would make it exactly 52 weeks and would fit in with how our schools do grading in Oklahoma. I'm not sure if that is how grading is done around the rest of the US though.

I always thought that year round schooling would be an awful idea, but with all of the headaches we have with school calendars these days and the fact that the teachers and kids both get tired of being there and with each other it is looking better to me all the time. Now if only I could convince our school system!

Lori

 

[Dumbo]

There is no air conditioning in my school district or in the neighboring districts. In fact I don't think schools in the Northeast have air conditioning.

Dumbo

 

[disney junky]

Since we're doing the old, I work year round and so should you....
I'll offer a bit of a different perspective on how I see education evolving over the next decade or so...incidently, we are already in the planning stages here at our school.
Virtual or cyber schools. That way the money stays in the home school districts. Offers flexibility of schedules. Here in Pennsylvania, the schools must by law allow the students to participate in extra curricular activities, sports, music and the like. If a student sits at home and works on the computer to complete classwork, he still is eligible to play on the school's basketball team tonight for a school he doesn't attend.
Achievement based or mastery based graduation. If students have achieved a certain level of performance as required by the state by the time they are 16, why hang around.
Technology is going to have a greater impact on school than anything else that's been tried to date.
We have had a small number of schools try the year round school; most have given it up. There are too many variables: industries that depend on the student employment (Hershey Park is nearby and would be devastated by lack of student workers), students who need jobs to save money can work full time for 10 weeks in row. It's hard to find a decent job where you would be paid for 2 or 3 weeks and then go back to part time.
I have never "needed" summers off, and I agree that the break is counterproductive to student learning if they do nothing over the summer to improve themselves. If material isn't practiced for six weeks, it's put in storage by the brain...some is forgotten.
I would point out that I am employed and paid for 190 days. I get three personal days per year (that number never changes whether I have taught one year or 20 years, though I can carry up to five). My employer shuts down over the summer. Essentially I get laid off...there is no work for me doing what I do, but I don't collect unemployment. It would be illegal for me to do so.
I have 200 points at BW. I have used them for one week long stay, one six day stay, one day, a long weekend, and coming soon, a long weekend in March. Pretty much all of these were at peak point times and they definitely all included those hefty weekend point values. But this is the path I chose. Someday.....
Even if they would change the school year and adjust the point values to fit a year round school year, I suspect that teachers would still be forced to use premium valued points....

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I wish we had school in the summer and the winters off.

That way my kids could be the worlds first elementary age Snow Birds...

 

[Mtnman44]

He He He

Uh-oh, didn't realize the teacher's union was watching! But why not, I do......

I like the summer breaks so that a lot of people travel then which leaves much less crowding most of the rest of the year for us! We intentionally plan our trips AWAY from School Vacations. Just a personal preference, even though we do have a kid in school now.

 

[solgent]

When we bought in late summer 05 and our guide (Celeste) was explaning the point system, she said that the point totals had to stay the same but the point "prices" for different times of the year could change for example, if school systems starting going to year-round schooling. She specifically brought up the possibility of that change and stated that she expected the distribution of points across the year would be adjusted. Obviously, Disney has to think of things like that!

As for my opinion of year-round schooling, I am a university professor, so I like anything that causes my children's time off to coincide with my available time and I dislike anything that causes my children's time off not to match with my available time.

 

[graygables]

Yet another reason to e-school! We happen to also enjoy the traditional school calendar, so we can take the kids when it's NOT crowded.

As far as points go, I'd think they would have to restructure somewhat, but I can't imagine there ever being any kind of uniformity in school calendars nationwide that would impact those numbers.

 

[loribell]

I wish we had school in the summer and the winters off.

That way my kids could be the worlds first elementary age Snow Birds...

Seeing as how Florida seems to be the only place that is not freezing cold right now I sure wish we were back there being snow birds! We are now on our 4th day in a row of no school because of all our ice with no end in sight!

Lori