ghout the entire calendar year, the school vacation periods and the peak periods of juvenile delinquency are closely related (Worsnop,96). In Chicago's Oakland neighborhood, where almost three out of four people live in poverty and violent crime is an hourly occurrence, Holy Angels Elementary School provides the safety and structure its pupils need to make the most of their education, so most don't mind taking a mere three week summer vacation (Worsnop,96). According to Charles Ballinger, executive director of NAYRE in San Diego, "The September-June school calendar has outlived its usefulness. It's an invention of agricultural economy; Young people had to be free during summer months for farm work. They did not design it to enhance education."We need to cut back on the waste. We need to accommodate students who learn at a slower pace. We need to keep our school buildings in use so we don't waste precious resources. Finally, we need to be able to perform as well as students in Japan, Germany, and France, year-round schooling will help to achieve that (Curriculum Review,95). Because year-round education differs so radically from tradition, community opposition is strong at the outset. Yet parental attitudes become progressively more positive as the programs continue. For example, Cherry Creek (CO) District 5, which instituted year-round schooling in 1974, surveyed parents after the first year and found that two-thirds preferred the year-round schedule (Pritchett,96). Nationwide, other school districts have found similarly high levels of parental acceptance after the programs began (Science Teacher,97). Like parents, teachers in year-round schools have generally positive attitudes, and their acceptance of the new schedule increases over time. Teachers experience few problems with vacation times. In fact, they feel that the more frequent breaks reduce burnout and help students retain more of what they have learned. Moreover, the frequent br...
