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B.C. Schools Could Adopt Year-Round Schedules

CBC  |  Posted: 04/27/2012 12:53 pm Updated: 04/29/2012 8:25 pm


Many students around B.C. may have their last long summer vacation next year, under new legislation that will allow school boards to scrap the traditional calendar.


The B.C. government introduced the amendments to the School Act on Thursday that will allow local school districts to set their schedules, provided they meet a minimum number of teaching hours, starting in the 2013-2014 school year.


Michael McEvoy, the head the B.C. School Trustees Association, welcomed the changes.


"Trustees have been looking for this kind of flexibility for a number of years," he said.


McEvoy says he has already heard interest from trustees in Vancouver and Grand Forks, but he expects many more districts will examine their options.


"It's really up to each individual board working with their communities, with their parents, with their kids in terms of how they want to develop their education agenda. Some boards may not make any change. Other boards may wish to make some changes in the calendar.


"But that's only going to happen with the consultation of the communities, and trustees look forward to that across the province."


Change could be divisive


Vancouver school board chair Patti Bacchus says school districts weren't consulted so she'll need to look at the legislation before giving a definitive response.


However, Bacchus says it can have educational benefits, but it's not something parents and teachers have been clamouring for:


"When I talk to folks who have been involved in other districts and have this discussion it can be a very divisive one," said Bacchus.


"People are used to the patterns that we have, and while there isn't a lot of educational reasons for sticking with what we call the agrarian calendar, to make a major change would require a lot of buy in, real interest and to make sure we're not disrupting things for families and for people who work in schools."


Bacchus says there is some year-round schooling programs already in Maple Ridge, Richmond and Langley, and agrees one of its benefits is the elimination of the two-month education gap in the summers.


Some schools already on year-round schedules


Parent Angela Downey already has her two children attending class on a year-round schedule at Maple Ridge's Kanaka Creek elementary, one of a handful of elementary schools already off the traditional calendar.


"I think it's fantastic - I think more schools should adopt it," said Downey.


Students at Kanaka Creek Elementary already get December, April and August off and Downey says the family benefits from vacations taken outside regular times and it's good for learning too.


"It seems they retain information a little bit better because they don't have the break in the summer that the regular kids have."


The amendments also extend the ability to take a mix of online and traditional school courses to students in kindergarten through Grade 9. Currently, only students in grades 10 to 12 have this option.


“These amendments to the School Act will provide school districts with additional tools to support personalized learning,” said Education Minister George Abbott.


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back ups
17 Fans
09:19 PM on 04/27/2012
If done properly it can be a great idea. I pay taxes all year and I want the schools, etc. to be used all year. Judging by the level of education coming out of schools these days, I'd guess a little more schooling won't hurt the children too much. Plus think of the money saved when a teacher starts out and they find that in the first year of teaching they are getting the same pay but only 2 weeks of vacation plus stat holidays just like everyone else. They can then spend the other couple of extra months teaching, which is what they are getting paid to do in the first place.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
All Seeing Guy
Center of the storm
440 Fans
04:05 PM on 04/29/2012
Ohhhhh dem teachers, dem damn teachers and dem unions ohhhhh i done hates dem sooooo muchhhh!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Mad Hatter 1
608 Fans
04:24 PM on 04/27/2012
Work camps seem like a better idea, don't they?
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Cael
108 Fans
 
04:04 PM on 04/27/2012
Absolutely stupid idea. With rising costs of education at the University and College level students really depend on those summer jobs to help pay for their continuing education. If they take that away, I hope the school boards are willing to pay for some of the graduating students future education.
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ChrisH75
87 Fans
03:37 PM on 04/27/2012
I have two major concerns with the idea of year-round school. First, many kids see their summers filled with sports and athletic activities. I spent my youth at the local pool, taking lessons and competing with our swim team. I would not have been able to do this if I were in school. Also, our schools don't offer enoguh physical activity during the school day as it is.

Second, as a teen, I was in the air cadets. I went away every summer for 3 to 6 weeks for different camps and courses. These camps did more than just give me a place to stay for the summer. We learned leadership skills and many earn their wings over the summer. Quite a feat for a 17 year old kid. I would hate for them to miss these opportunities because of some thoughtless policy.
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BCPATRIOT
British Columbia
412 Fans
03:23 PM on 04/27/2012
Parents now a days just want free full time babysitters for there children.

Teachers are not babysitters.
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Drexels55
17 Fans
03:33 PM on 04/27/2012
true...every 4th day is a PD day
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Hikerqueen
0 Fans
04:40 PM on 04/27/2012
Well said!
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Bumpers car
Fish till you die
60 Fans
02:30 PM on 04/27/2012
This has been talked about by just about every province during the last 20 years. Despite being the darling of the urban working parents and the problems with summer long daycare, there are other considerations. First, the extra cost of taking traditional temperate zone Canadian Schools and making them habitable in summer. Most schools do not have any form of cooling or fresh air circulation. The cost to renovate these systems is going to be prohibitive. Second, removal of a prolonged summer break period will cause financial disruption within the tourism industry in a time of economic turmoil. This is a detriment to its acceptence. Third, with tuition escalating along with books and accommodation, secondary school students need more time before post secondary to get at least a portion of the wildly expensive education they now need. This makes their debt ratio worse than it is now. Finally, rural boards are still partially designed to cater to the work needs of agriculture, forestry, tourism, Etc. This will be a hard fought battle to convince them. On a school by school basis, the plan has merit for the parents who are annualy faced with finding two months of kid care but I personally think that it will wind up with some schools or boards offering it and some not. Ontario looked at this under the Harris Regime and I think even experimented with it in the Toronto area. Most schools here are still seasonal because of those reasons, but mainly cost.
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nathanielhebert
7 Fans
 
02:29 PM on 04/27/2012
Really, rob children of the little bit of freedom they have left, so they can be indoctrinated into the system year-round.

This place is really shaping up to be a prison planet.
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Ansdlmol
83 Fans
02:17 PM on 04/27/2012
An excellent idea. The kids don't need all that time out of a structured environment and it lends to continuity of learning. Two weeks off during, winter, easter and summer is more than enough and it will cut down on the expense of having to have babysitters.
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ChrisH75
87 Fans
03:20 PM on 04/27/2012
Most kids are not "out of a structured environment" as you put it during the summer, many are involved in sports and athletic programs which they saddly lack during the days they spend at school. As a kid, my summers we filled with swimming lessons and competitive meets followed my summer camps with the air cadets when I was older. I remember those summers alot more than I remember the days that I spent in a classroom.
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Ansdlmol
83 Fans
03:31 PM on 04/27/2012
You obviously didn't come from the east side. Unlike the moneyed folks the poor children do not go to camps, swimming lessons, and such interesting but costly extracurricular activities and as our financial circumstances change less and less people are going to be able to afford these frills..
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Heaven Caged
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03:52 PM on 04/27/2012
That is not for you to say, It affects "The Kids" more then any one else, we need to stop deciding what cost less. It should be up to the children and teenagers effected most by this problem. And Chris is right, a lot of teens are effected by this from the lack of sports and programs out and the time to get involved during the school year. Its not about parents paying for it, get a job that's what I did and that's what my friends did. The teenagers in my area are hard working individuals on there way to being adults. And summer is a big part of
growing up. It makes childhood memory's, first loves, first water gun fight. Summer is part of our culture. You cannot take that away from our children because you think teachers are baby sitters.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
All Seeing Guy
Center of the storm
440 Fans
02:09 PM on 04/27/2012
In public: "Year-round schooling helps the children retain more information. It's good for learning.
In private: "$##@ing babysitter should work year-round."
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scratchingmyhead
21 Fans
02:01 PM on 04/27/2012
why not? vacations are destined to become a thing of the past anyway.
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intoodeeptosleep
13 Fans
02:00 PM on 04/27/2012
Well 2 months off a year can be a real pain when you're trying to indoctrinate the masses of future wage slaves. Why let children be free for two months when we all know that only a small percentage of real humans actually get that much time off of their toil. We should probably eliminate weekends too maybe have a couple hours of night school before bed time. Kids have way too much time on their hands as it is. Maybe we could get around some child labour laws and have them all do "community service" at night then we could lay off a bunch of lazy good for nothing entitled union workers. Heck they may be little but I bet they could even collect the trash if we had some volunteers driving the truck.
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