The Case Against Summer Vacation
By David Von Drehle Thursday, Jul. 22, 2010
Deprived of healthy stimulation, millions of low-income kids lose a significant amount of what they learn during the school year. Call it "summer learning loss," as the academics do, or "the summer slide," but by any name summer is among the most pernicious — if least acknowledged — causes of achievement gaps in America's schools. Children with access to high-quality experiences can exercise their minds and bodies at sleep-away camp, on family vacations, in museums and libraries and enrichment classes. Meanwhile, children without resources languish on street corners or in front of glowing screens. By the time the bell rings on a new school year, the poorer kids have fallen weeks, if not months, behind. And even well-off American students may be falling behind their peers around the world.
And what starts as a hiccup in a 6-year-old's education can be a crisis by the time that child reaches high school. A major study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University concluded that while students made similar progress during the school year, regardless of economic status, the better-off kids held steady or continued to advance during the summer — while disadvantaged students fell back. By the end of grammar school, low-income students had fallen nearly three grade levels behind. By ninth grade, roughly two-thirds of the learning gap separating income groups could be blamed on summer learning loss.
Year Round Calendar
BiggerPicture believes that operating schools on a year-round calendar provides the best solution for increasing capacity by:
•Minimizing the amount of reassignments necessary, which
provides for a more stable school community
•Simplifying the feeder patterns into schools, allowing more
classmate continuity from elementary to middle school
•Utilizing a building that currently exists rather than waiting
for new construction.
•Operating that building at greater efficiency, which provides
better stewardship to taxpayers and is reflective of the current
economic environment
•Spreading students out over tracks, allowing for a "smaller
school" feel which leads to improved learning
•Increasing calendar continuity for the majority of students which
would come from year-round elementary schools
About Wake County’s Year-round Schools
Over the past 17 years thousands of students, parents and teachers have embraced the year-round calendar as an educational equivalent -- and some believe superior – alternative to the traditional calendar.
Regardless of calendar, year-round schools have the same challenges and rewards as traditional calendar schools. The significant difference is that while traditional schools continue to take the entire summer off, year-round schools space that three-month vacation throughout the school year with three-week “track-outs” every nine weeks. Year-round proponents maintain that this schedule maximizes academic retention and provides teachers and students with scheduled breaks at regular intervals. A review of
year-round research conducted at Duke University found that students on a year-round schedule do have a slight advantage over their peers when it comes to retention.
To learn more about how year-round operates visit
Track Out Camps
Magnet Schools
February 22, 2011 - Fifteen WCPSS magnet schools have been honored as top magnet schools in the nation by the Magnet Schools of America.
Schools are recognized as 2011 Magnet Schools of Excellence which are considered for the top magnet school in the nation. Schools also earn recognition as Magnet Schools of Distinction.
“I am excited to see the large number and wide variety of our magnet schools earn national recognition,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, WCPSS Chief Academic Officer. “This points to the choices Wake County families can make selecting from a variety of high quality schools that are recognized as being among the best in the country.”
This year the Magnet Schools of America recognized these 15 WCPSS magnet schools:
2011 National Magnet Schools of Excellence
Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary
Bugg Creative Arts and Science Magnet Elementary
Farmington Woods International Baccalaureate PYP Magnet Elementary
Joyner Center for Spanish Language/International Baccalaureate PYP Magnet
Elementary
Millbrook International Baccalaureate PYP Magnet Elementary
Ligon Gifted and Talented Magnet Middle
2011 National Magnet Schools of Distinction
Brooks Museums Magnet Elementary
Underwood Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary
Washington Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary
Martin Gifted and Talented Magnet Middle
Garner International Baccalaureate MYP/DP Magnet High
Southeast Raleigh Leadership and Technology Magnet High
Wake Early College of Health and Science
The Magnet Schools of America created an Honorable Mention category this year. East Garner IB-MYP Magnet Middle and Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary were recognized as Honorable Mention Schools.
The 15 WCPSS schools were selected from a national field of more than 2,000 magnet schools. The schools choose to be considered for the competition that looks at innovative instructional strategies, student achievement, diversity goals, and parent and community involvement in the magnet school.
Magnet Schools of America is a national collaborative network of magnet schools that provide leadership for innovative instructional programs promoting equity, diversity, and academic excellence for all students in public school choice programs.
Magnet schools are innovative instructional programs that promote equity, diversity, academic excellence, and public school choice for all students. Magnet Schools have goals of improved academic achievement, diverse student enrollments, higher attendance rates, higher graduation rates, and lower drop-out rates. Magnet schools can bring more parental involvement, more personalization through theme-based education, and specialized programs providing a sense of a safer environment for learning.
What we can do:
1. Encourage businesses to become actively involved in magnet schools.
2. Support legislation at both the local,state, & national levels that promote magnet schools
3. Provide parents and community members information on the benefits of magnet schools.
4. Provide support, advocacy, and leadership for all magnet schools and other public schools
5. Communicate and educate of the values of equity, diversity,and academic success
