Nine elementary schools in Wake County, N.C., with high percentages of students from low-income families would be converted to year-round schedules to help boost academic performance, district administrators have proposed.
The Raleigh News & Observer reports that Wake County district administrators want to put the nine schools in the Elementary Support Model program, which provides extra help to schools with low test scores. Classes for schools in the program typically begin in July.
The district hasn’t converted this many schools to a year-round calendar since 2007, when 22 traditional-calendar schools made the switch. The calendar overhauls at those schools were carried out so that existing campuses in the growing district could accommodate more students; the rationale for the latest proposed conversions is improving student achievement.
The calendar change would enable students at the 12 schools to receive 10 extra days of instruction. School administrators also say that shortening summer vacation at those schools will reduce the amount of information that students forget during the break from classes.
The traditional-calendar elementary schools where the year-round calendar would be adopted: Brentwood, Bugg, Fox Road, Lynn Road and Walnut Creek in Raleigh; Creech Road, East Garner and Smith in Garner; and Lincoln Heights Elementary in Fuquay-Varina.
