President Obama has proposed to lengthen the average school year by a month in a bid to increase achievement records for students. He noted that American school students had poorer grades than their fellows in Germany, Japan or South Korea who all have longer school years than American schools.
“That month makes a difference,” the president Obama said. “It means that kids are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer. It’s especially severe for poorer kids who may not see as many books in the house during the summers, aren’t getting as many educational opportunities.”
Higher performing foreign schools are operating at around 196 days per year, while the schools in question for the proposal in the Holland-area average around 175 to 180 days.
While the extension of school days is supported by local superintendants, there still remain questions about how the longer school year would be funded, as well as how parents would cope with the reshuffle.
The economic impacts for the lengthened school year are quite significant, given that it means paying all the staff for an extra month’s work, including operating busses, cleaning and all the other details around keeping a school open.
Others have contended that while students can forget a lot of material over the three months summer break, adding to the school year would not necessarily be the magic ticket to better academic achievements. Higher standards in teacher training, infrastructure access and parental support all play into a student’s ability to perform well.
