This is a subject concerning Wake County schools, so it's more curiosity on my part, really. Can anyone explain to me how moving from the traditional school calendar to a year round school calendar eases overcrowding? I'm just not seeing it. Thanks
Take four bowls (which represent the four seasons). Distribute five hundren beans between three of the bowls (the empty bowl represents summer vacation). Now redistribute the beans to include the fourth bowl. You will see that each bowl has, effectively, less beans. This is the logic. As to whether or not it actually make sense is another matter. My kids are grown, so I really don't have a dog in this fight. However, I'm split on the year round thing. I think it's a good idea, IF the school system will guarantee that all the kids from a family would be on the same cycle. If not, then it shouldn't be implemented.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec01/year-round.html FYI^ I agree with Clif :shock: :lol: that the schools would need to guarantee that all the kids in a family are on the same track, otherwise, (especially for working moms), year-round may be a nightmare. As for the schools, trying to make a guarantee like that might be a nighmare too. :wink:
The idea is they can squeeze in additional children because at any given time at least one of the four or five tracks is on break. Thus the remaining tracks use that space. Example ... tracks 1,2,3 are in ... 4 out ... after their three week break 4 comes in and take the space 1 was using while they go on break ... in three weeks 1 comes back and takes 2's space while 2 goes on break .... Check out the Wake County Schools web site. Some place on there is a schedule for year round schools which shows how their tracks are scheduled.
Hey all, Question, if anybody knows, the teachers...do they get a break at all? Or are they employed year round? Just curious... Sharon
ok - that all makes sense - that's how my college was set up - in quarters instead of semesters. I didn't realize that was what they were doing.
As far as I know, the teachers are on a specific track and will get the two or three weeks off every three or four months (depending on how many tracks). Basically they'll have the same time off as any student, just like on a "normal" school year. On a side note, this is one reason teachers don't like year-round schools. They don't get the three months all in a row, so can't take on a "summer job" to augment their teacher salary.
Don't have a dog in this fight either. BUT going to year-round or not is, in my opinion, something that's going to have to be discussed in Johnston as the population continues to explode. Any education issue affects all of us as an investment in our county's future, as well as affecting our taxes. Wondering about building maintenance costs. Would year-round give Johnston a chance to catch up on building additional schools? Would Commissioners be far-sighted enough to budget for additional maintenance costs if that is a given? Any teachers on this board who know for sure whether teachers have to work year round or alternatively if they can get revolving three month periods of time off?
Teachers are only 10 month employees. We are required to work 215 days per year so there is no option in a year-round school of having a two month period off. (We work before and after the children's school year, so we actually do not have 3 month summers.) Although some teachers have "summer jobs," I know several who work for temp. agencies during vacations and summers. These jobs would still be available throughout the year. Nevertheless, many teachers (not all though) would like year-round schools for a variety of reasons including the breaks during the school year to "recharge" their batteries, less time wasted on reviewing what was forgotten over the summer, and time for remediation during the school year instead of children falling behind throughout the year. Several schools that are year-round have remediation for failing students during the breaks between grading periods. This catches those students up before they get too far behind.
In some systems, the in between time is an employment time for teachers working with students who need remediation. I'm not sure about Wake, but some year round schools use weeks 10 and 11 for student remediation and enrichment. All Children First - 215 days a year? Are you including holidays built into that 215 days? Or are you saying year round teachers in Wake County are working 215 days?
It's state law that public school teachers are 215 day employees. That is working days with students and workdays (180 + 15) and the ten "built-in" paid holidays. In JCS those days include Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. When you look at a staff calendar, you'll see some days marked as holidays and some as annual leave days. The holidays are the days that all staff, including custodial, are not working. The state law that changed the start and end days of the school year also eliminated 5 workdays for teachers. The only exceptions are the media coordinators. Wake Co. supplements extra for their salaries so that they work in the media center year-round at a year-round school. Administration, office staff, custodians, etc. are all 12 month employees. Year-round teachers have some workdays during the breaks so they do not get the full 3 weeks off. They do not get paid for parts of the breaks. However, some teachers do work as tutors for remediation for failing students. I don't know about Wake Co., but most counties do not allow the teacher to tutor students within their classes or, in some cases, at their schools, during the remediation. That means a teacher tutors at a different school during the break and is paid an hourly wage to do so.
Anybody have an opinion if this will ever happen in Johnston County? From the folks I have talked to seem to not think so. I am just thinking of the future. Sharon
Last time the school board discussed it (that's as far as it got, just discussions - no voting), I think it got a big HELL NO. 8)
I have heard that the current superintendent here in JoCo does not favor the idea and it won't happen while he's in. But you never know. I come from a very rural county and it was instituted at the K-8 school my brother and sister were at, not to ease overcrowding, but as a way for the kids to learn better. It was very well received at that school and is still in effect there. It's a little different than the Wake Co schools, since they aren't doing it to save space, they don't have the different tracks, they just have one, and it's a 9 week on, 3 week off schedule, and I think they get 6 weeks in the summer off. The idea is that they forget less without a longer break and the 3 week breaks off give them just enough time not to get burned out. This has been in place at least 10 years there, and it sure didn't come with all the pissing and moaning that you're seeing in Wake Co. People want to keep flocking here and Wake Co, but don't want to pay for the schools to educate the kids. I would much rather have my child in a smaller class in a year round school than crammed in with 30 other kids at a time. At the same time I do understand that it's hard for parents with different kids on different tracks. If I was in that situation I would probably move most likely, if it's that big of a deal.
