8
In the SREB region, North Carolina has the most schools operating on year-round calendars (104) as
reported by the state department of education — about 4 percent of the state’s 2,500 public schools. Nearly
half are in Wake County. To accommodate rapid population growth and to maintain diversity, the Wake
County public school system began investigating year-round school programs in 1987 and launched a year-
round school pilot project in 1989.
The school system opened a 267-student magnet elementary school on a single-track, year-round calen-
dar, which was the state’s (and the nation’s) first magnet year-round school. The following year, the county
opened a multi-track, year-round elementary school for 750 students. Currently, Wake County operates
49 year-round schools, totaling about 20,000 students. These schools operate on a 45-15, four-track
schedule for 180 instructional days a year.
As a result, Wake County schools house 20 percent to 33 percent more students. The system saves on
construction costs, operating expenses and student materials. Instead of purchasing textbooks and equipment
for every student, schools save money by requiring students from different tracks to share textbooks and
school equipment (such as computers). In addition, the 15-day intersessions provide students with enrich-
ment and remedial programs.
After several years of operating a year-round schedule, Virginia’s Fairfax County school board eliminated
its multi-track, year-round program in May 2010 due to state funding decreases. The year-round calendar
had operated in 23 elementary schools and affected about 1,000 teachers, but the schools returned to a
traditional calendar in fall 2010. The school system will use $1.3 million in local funds to facilitate its tran-
sition back to a traditional calendar. However, the program change will save the school system more than
$1.9 million in local funding during the 2010-2011 school year alone.
In December 2010, the Oklahoma City school district voted to implement a year-round school calendar
in all 78 schools in the district. Before the district vote, seven schools in the district operated on a year-
round calendar to combat academic achievement losses. Due to a rise in student population, an increase
in the number of students eligible for the federal free- and reduced-priced meal program, and 17 schools
on the “needs improvement” list in the district, the board voted to expand the calendar to all schools in the
district to provide additional opportunities for learning. Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, the
summer vacation will decrease to two months (from the current three months), and two- or three-week
intersessions will divide the school year. The number of instructional days will not change.
Benefits and challenges of year-round programs
The potential benefits and challenges of implementing a year-round school program are numerous.
Overall, the regular intersession/vacation breaks can give teachers and students time to rejuvenate, creating
more motivated and invigorated staff and students. In turn, multiple intersessions provide students with more
opportunities for remediation and enrichment, compared with the traditional calendar’s typical remediation
only during summer school. Other advantages can include salary enhancements for support staff and instruc-
tors who work extra terms, during intersessions, or as substitutes. Unfortunately, a year-round program also
can create difficulties for some families in planning extended family vacations, especially for siblings who may
not have the same school calendar. Child care options could be limited due to the unique breaks.