Year-round schooling can be a scary thought. The latest rumor was year-round schooling was hitting District 241 as soon as the 2014-15 school year, but Mr. Wagner, ALHS Principal, disconfirmed this rumor. Year-round schooling is something that may come in the future, but the schools are not yet equipped with all the necessities.

“All the schools need to have a new heating and cooling system before we can make the move to year-round schooling,” Wagner said.

Year-round schooling means no more three-month summer break, but it may also have some positive results to it as well.

Pros

Year-round schooling is a chance for students to do much better academically. With more breaks in between schooling, students won’t forget as much as they do over the extended summer break.

The breaks may be shorter but they’ll occur much more often, 45 on 15 off is the number that seems to be coming up most often. Those increments give the teachers enough time to make progress and still enough time to allow students to relax

Having shorter breaks can not only help students academically, but mentally as well.

“I think having shorter breaks more often won’t be that bad,” stated eighth grader Steven Larson. “That way when you get sick of school and just need a break you know you have one coming soon.”

Cons

Year-round schooling will have its downsides as well. Even the administrators know that.

“Farmers rely on their kids to help them on the farm,” Wagner said. “I grew up on a farm and I know things wouldn’t have gotten done if I wasn’t there to help out in the summer.”

Parents are going to have to start thinking about their scheduling if their kids start going to school all year. They’ll have to change their childcare plans and possibly change their transportation plans. Family vacations will have to be planned around the 15-day breaks rather than the three-month summer.

Vacation spots themselves are going to start to struggle as well. Summer is their huge income time. They make most of their sales around those times, and the more schools start going to year-round, the more they’ll have to try to change things