Year Round Education Can Be the Solution for Detroit's Failing Schools.

In a 2009 report Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that "Detroit's troubled public schools are "ground zero" for education in the U.S. and promised federal help if leaders are willing to make necessary changes.” (Williams, 2009). The solution for Detroit’s failing education system may be year round education.

To Begin we must first establish that the Detroit Education System is failing. According to the (Detroit Free Press 2009), “Most Detroit Public Schools’ fourth- and eighth-graders were unable to score at a basic math level on a national test this year — marking the lowest performance in the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The hour-long NAEP test is scored in two ways. In the first, average results are scored on a scale of 1 to 500. In the second set of scoring criteria, test-takers are ranked from “below basic” to “advanced.” About 69 % of the fourth-grade students scored “below basic.” In eighth grade, 77% were below basic. Detroit’s eighth-graders lagged further behind, scoring 238 compared to the average of 282.”

There are even worse signs of failure. According to (CBSNews.Com 2009) “Six out of 10 Detroit school children are behind in reading by the seventh grade, the white paper said, and the city has the worst graduation rate in the nation of large cities - only 37.5 percent are graduating. Nationally, 75 percent of high school students graduate.”

Why are Detroit’s schools performing so poorly? Much of it is the result of poor management and socio-economical issues. (CBS News 2009) reports, “Driven by the collapse of the domestic automobile industry, Detroit’s poverty rate of is 33.8 percent, the highest in the U.S. In addition, almost half of Detroit’s children are categorized as “poor.” Dr. Irwin Redlener, founder of the Children's Health Fund along with recording artist Paul Simon, estimated that the number of children in poverty could rise from 12.5 million prior to the recession to about 17 million by the end of 2009.” All this in what Forbes Magazine says, “Detroit is the worst offender on our list of America's most dangerous cities, thanks to a staggering rate of 1,220 violent crimes committed per 100,000 people.”

There is evidence that year round education can help. In Texas, the Socorro Independent School District is an interesting example. “Since Socorro Independent School District successfully implemented a year-round school calendar in 1991, we have substantially improved every aspect of our educational program.” (Barber, R. Jerry 1996) This district has many of the same issues that Detroit has: “We are a property-poor district with unemployment over 12 percent. Our district is 90 percent Mexican-American and 70 percent economically disadvantaged. Yet, our students score at or above the state average on all mandated tests. Our dropout rate is less than one percent, and 65 percent of our graduates attend college,” says Barber. Why couldn’t Detroit do the same?

Barber writes, “Keeping our schools open and functioning during the summer provides a haven for our students. The long summer of forgetting is avoided, and time used in the first month of school for review is shortened. Our teachers say the students are back to speed in a couple of days.”

There are two different ideas in year round education: single-track and multi-track. In single track schools, the students and teachers are all in class and on vacation at the same time. In multi-track schools, students are staggered so that not all students go to class at the same time. This extends building use by keeping only two-thirds of the students in class at any given period. The Socorro Independent School District adopted this program in order to stem the need to build more schools in their growing district.

Barber writes, “The most important advantage of this calendar, where students are never out of school for more than one month at a time, is increased student performance. Our students have improved their academic performance every year since we implemented this calendar.”

Other research has been conducted that states, “1) prior to high school, the achievement gap by family SES {socioeconomic status} traces substantially to unequal learning opportunities in children’s home and community environments; and 2) with learning gains across social lines more nearly equal during the school year, the experience of schooling tends to offset the unequalizing press of children’s out-of-school learning environments.” Alexander, Karl (2007)

Year round schooling is not without its issues. In California’s (Year Round Education Guide 1999) they list the pro and cons of year round schooling:

Pros:

· School site accommodates 20 to 30 percent more students

· Increased retention in some studies

· Teachers are able to earn more money if they chose to teach extra sessions or substitute

· Increased public perception of teachers as a profession

· Lower cost per student than acquisition of site and building

· Vandalism of the school site reduced

· Kindergarten students can enter when ready instead of waiting till September

· Students may advance academically when ready if space permits

· Intermissions offer time to supplement instruction

· Some families prefer staggered vacation schedules

· Provides calendar options that more closely fit changing lifestyles and work patterns

· District incurs fewer capital costs

· Savings in insurance costs

Cons:

· Inconclusive evidence that academic achievement improves with YRE calendar

· Maintenance must be done at night and on weekends (all overtime)

· Some maintenance requires more than 15 to 20 days to be completed

· At intermediate and high school grade levels, family disruptions may ensue

· Teachers pack and move everything after every session

· Athletic scheduling and other activities (such as band) are a problem

· Communication among staff / staff training is disrupted when 25 percent are absent at all times

· Special training is required for staff to develop individualized programs and to change curriculum into blocks

· Transportation may have increased cost

· Current facilities may not be designed for YRE. Storage of materials is an on-site problem

· Increased placement of children in combination classes

· Increased administrative cost for designing schedules

· Children jumping tracks causing a possible loss of community, identity and scheduling problems

· Administrative cost to cover principal’s vacation

· Not recommended that the educational calendar be facilities-based

· May be more difficult to accommodate legislated school reforms such as extended school year and mandatory summer school

President Obama said it best in a statement to the Associated Press, "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." (Associated Press 2009) The challenges in Detroit are that the outside environment is detrimental to the learning process. By minimizing the time students interact with these outside influences, students have more of a chance of success.

References:

Erb, R. (2009, December 8). Detroit students' scores a record low on national test. Detroit Free Press . Retrieved from http://www.freep.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/91208020/Detroit-students/--scores-a-record-low-on-national-test

Barber, R. (1996). Year-round schooling really works. Education Digest , 62 (2), 31. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

CBSNews.Com. (2009). Kids' Health Initiative Starts In Detroit; Motor City Is The Hub for Problems Affecting Poor Children . Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/24/business/childofrecession/main4966076.shtml

Greensburg, Z. O. (2009, April 23). America's Most Dangerous Cities. Forbes Magazine . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/most-dangerous-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-dangerous-american-cities.html

Greensburg, Z. O. (2009, April 23). America's Most Dangerous Cities. Forbes Magazine . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/most-dangerous-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-dangerous-american-cities.html

California State Dept. of Education, S. (1999). YRE Program Guide . Retrieved from ERIC database

ASSOCIATED PRESS, (2009, September 28). He's just lost the 'tween vote: Obama wants kids staying longer in school. Daily Herald . Retrieved from http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=324654