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| Students prosper at year-round school |
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Students prosper at year-round school by Jabeen Bhatti
Most Fairfax County youngsters have just a week left of public school classes. Then they'll be free for nearly three months of summer vacation. But not all of them. Carrie Jo Cornwell and her classmates at Timber Lane Elementary School in Falls Church will toil away through next week . Then they'll be back at it on Aug. 2. Timber Lane is a year-round school, the first of its kind in the Washington area. As the first year on the schedule draws to a close, school officials and parents are applauding the change because it lends continuity and less repetition to learning. Students seem happy, too. Carrie Jo gets three other extended vacations during the school year to loaf, vacation or attend one of the school's camp-like enrichment courses. "School is better than before," she said. "We get longer breaks when we need them and can try new things out over break time. I'd rather have this." "It's much easier for the students," said Carla Fletcher, a fifth-grade teacher at Timber Lane. "They don't forget as much of the material as they did before. Because there is less regression, there are also less complaints about repetitive material. And because of the more frequent breaks, the kids are able to sustain working for longer periods of time." "I want to keep it this way," said Carrie Jo's mother, Nancy Cornwell. "It gives the kids some time off when they need a breather and normally don't have it. It gives them an opportunity to try other activities. Both my kids liked it." Timber Lane's school year began Aug. 3 and will end June 25. The school still operates on a 180-day school year, but the lost summer holidays are taken in breaks at the end of each quarter - two weeks each in October, January and April. Students still have Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring holidays. During the three breaks, the school offers optional extra enrichment and remedial classes called intersessions. Eighty percent of the school's 560 students took the extra classes this year. The intersessions emphasize hands-on learning. In one class, children learned fractions and other math skills through cooking. In a "pre-med" class, children learned about the human body by presentations complete with real hearts. In another class taught by a military officer, they went to "boot camp" and learned discipline, motivation and how to sing the "Sound Off" song. Jane Beddoe said her 8-year-old daughter, Annie, "is still talking about the heart they brought in" after the pre-med course. But she did more than talk, Ms. Beddoe recalled. After the class, the third-grader voluntarily created a science project on the human senses. It won a prize in the school's science fair. Although school officials say it is too soon to tell if the schedule change and the extra sessions have enhanced academic performance, teachers and parents offer anecdotal evidence suggesting it has. "I have seen some improvement in math skills," Mrs. Fletcher said. "The supplemental classes offer skills that kids can carry back into the classroom." School officials say the change also allows students to get help when they need it. "We don't have to wait for summer school to get remedial help," said Donna Lewis, the school's principal. "We have got them right there and can get them help after every quarter." The schedule change costs the county about $150,000, mostly for transportation and salaries. The school charges students $25 for each of the intersessions. Some parents, critical of the schedule, say it disrupts families' schedules. The shorter summer vacation prevents youths from joining summer camps and other activities, some parents complain. Rick Nelson, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers calls the year-round approach "a step in the right direction. Giving students extra help more often rather than social promotion is the right approach to education." Still, Mr. Nelson cautions county school administrators to avoid overburdening the school's regular teachers. The two-week classes were taught by six regular teachers and 14 volunteers, mostly part-time or retired teachers. "We have concerns they can maintain the quality of the program they had this year and retain the staff they need without burning out the regular teachers," he said. "They need time to regroup." Other area schools are considering the year-round schedule. Dogwood Elementary School in Reston plans to convert to the year-round schedule, beginning in August 2000. Nationwide, about 3,000 schools in 41 states follow this schedule. That's an almost six-fold increase this decade, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education in San Diego. Although the majority of Timber Lane's parents supported the change and work around the schedule, four parents transferred their children to another school. Six others disapproved but kept their children in Timber Lane, said Ms. Lewis. Jill Garnett opposed the year-round schedule but enrolled two of her children at Timber Lane anyway. During the past year, her oldest daughter followed a regular school calendar. As a result, Mrs. Garnett could only take her younger children - both of whom attend Timber Lane - to visit their grandparents in Michigan. "This whole year has been screwy," she said. "We feel like our family is divided. And I didn't see anything this year that convinced me that it was worth it." Because of the "disruptive" schedule, Mrs. Garnett has accelerated her family's relocation plans. "They tell you that if you don't like it, you can leave," she said. "That is what we are doing. But it wasn't an easy decision. And it wasn't nice to be told that by your school and your neighborhood." Twenty-four sets of parents put their children on Timber Lane's enrollment waiting list. Other parents reworked their schedules. Ms. Beddoe said it wasn't difficult for her family to accommodate the schedule because of advance planning. She added that the benefits outweighed any inconvenience. "We had talked about going to Disney World this year," she said. "Annie wanted to go. But she didn't want to miss the intersession." YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL Timber Lane Elementary School's first year-round schedule is winding down. Key dates in the students' schedules: Aug. 3, 1998 - School began Oct. 12-23 - Holidays/optional intersessions Dec. 23-Jan. 1 - Christmas break Jan. 4-15 - Holidays/optional intersessions March 29-April 2 - Spring break April 5-17 - Holidays/optional intersessions June 25 - School ends. no intersessions during summer Aug. 2 - School begins Source: Timber Lane Elementary School calendar |
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