A three-year pilot project proposed in five states will alter the school calendar from nine months to year round, and although the pilot will not affect Louisiana, local superintendents said the issue is worth discussing.

In December, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee announced the school systems would be adding 300 hours to the academic calendars starting this year. The new pilot program will affect approximately 20,000 students in 40 schools among the states.

“There is merit to the discussion, but it’s not been one our school system has been serious about,” said Iberia Parish Superintendent of Schools Dale Henderson.

Henderson said School Board members and staff have informally discussed the topic in the past, but no actions to change the calendar have been formally made.

There are many different models and versions of year-round calendars, Henderson said, some of which would not require additional days, just different days. He said there could be a longer fall break, Christmas break and spring break, but a shorter summer break.

“It gives more frequent intermittent breaks throughout the year,” he said.

St. Martin Parish Superintendent of Schools Richard Lavergne said he has had informal conversations about year-round schools, too. He said he supports the calendar model that would add hours, but it would not be a feasible option until more funding is available.

“A big issue at this time is the cuts. We just don’t have the funding,” he said.

Lavergne, formerly an assistant superintendent in Caddo Parish, said two of the schools in his former district were year-round schools, which were well received.

“They were very good schools, and a lot of people really liked them,” he said.

According to the National Summer Learning Association’s website, “young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.”

The organization cited more than 100 years of research that shows students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.

Henderson said he thinks there is a regression in a student’s education after a long summer break.

“There is some regression when students return to school in August,” he said. “Teachers do have to spend some time reviewing material that has been lost.”

Iberia Parish Assistant Superintendent Carey Laviolette said she thinks reduced time away from school during the summer would improve student achievement.

“When students return to school after a lengthy break, teachers have to review many of the concepts before beginning the new learning for the year,” she said.

Lavergne agreed that the year-round school year could allow teachers to introduce new material rather than review.

“Two months of not going over things you tend to forget,” he said. “It could save teachers time on going over old things and allow them to teach new material.”

St. Mary Parish Superintendent of Schools Donald Aguillard said if school systems chose the model of adding 300 hours to the school calendar it would equate to 50 additional six-hour days.

“Teachers and students need time during the summer for recreational activities, family vacations, summer camps, etc,” he said. “I do not believe it is wise to ask students and teachers to work nonstop.”

Henderson said in the school extension model that has a shorter summer vacation but longer breaks, the same amount of days would be required.

“You’re not asking your employees to work any more days, just different days,” he said.

Because employees would be required to work the same number of days, Henderson said their salaries would remain the same and the budget would not change. He said the utility bills may be affected because schools would be open for longer hours in summer months.

“You would be running your schools during the summer months more than you do now,” he said.

The school buildings use utilities in the summer months for the janitorial and maintenance staffs that do the bulk of their work when the buildings are vacant, Henderson said.

Lavergne said not having the extended summer break would be a problem for major construction jobs, which he said is the biggest weakness of the year-round system.

“When you have two months off, you can put a construction crew in there and have it ready for the next year,” he said.

Lavergne said he does not predict year-round schools with additional hours in St. Martin Parish until there is “serious funding” because employees would require a salary increase and utility bills could increase if the model that adds school days is used. 

“Until we can truly fund it, I don’t think we could do it,” he said. 

Laviolette said teachers and students are experiencing a plethora of changes in the education system. She said although the parish always wants to improve the students’ education, she does not think changing the calendar at this time would help.

“Considering yet another change at the present time would be detrimental to the overall performance of teachers and students,” she said. “However, the consideration of year-round school is not out of the question for future years.”