Debating Year-Round Education (2/2)

Some parts of the country had year-round programs in the 19th century, mostly for economic reasons. They felt it wasted money to use school buildings for only part of the year.

Year-round programs can also reduce crowding in schools. In one version, students attend school for 9 weeks and then have 3 weeks off. The students are in groups that are not all in school at the same time. Another year-round calendar has all students in school together for 9 weeks and off for 3. This is meant to provide the continuous learning that can be lost over a long break.

But year-round schooling has opponents. They say it can cause problems for families when they want to make summer plans. And they say it interferes with activities outside school -- including summer employment.

Some experts say no really good studies have been done to measure the effect of school calendars on performance. But some educators think year-round schooling especially helps students from poor families that lack educational support at home.