Why districts need to adopt a year round program?

Why districts need to adopt a year round program?

There is a great deal written about how much valuable education students lose during the summer.  Academic, social and physical skills mastered during the “school year” are lost during this time. There is a solution to this problem that districts should consider, adopt a three-semester system that includes one semester of virtual online education for a student that is fostered by asynchronous and synchronous learning.  The K-12 learning environment can be extended throughout the school year by including PBL activities, game based education, simulations, and other interactive online activities using social media.  The one semester would be a great time to interact with global groups that will help extend and encourage students to be better 21^st century students.

Think about the aggressive nature of learning if students were encouraged to participate in One World-Education, Global SchoolNet, , Flat Classroom, Project Learning LLC, Cyberschoolbus.org, Epals,  and other selected programs. Students would do math/science-based games and simulations using TI calculators, visit video sites, create their own activities – art, music, etc to share with others.

Here is an even scarier idea, take the third semester away from the local schools and make it a national program sponsored by groups like the Library of Congress, or other agencies so that students have an opportunity to do incredible activities. We have Disney, Google, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media sources that can help sponsor these programs.  The Lucas Foundation, Apple, Kauffman Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, and other groups could help fund and build one semesters worth of enriched education. These groups can help students gain accessibility and demonstrate accountability that makes these topics not as big an issue as might be imagined.

And, yes, there is a need for physical accountability on the part of students. There are a lot of gyms, recreation programs and organizations that could be used to help students achieve a minimal state of physical growth. During the school year students only take one or two days of PE. And districts like Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada have taken away recess so the students get even less physical activity. Are there minimum standards for physical education to graduate as there are English, Math, Science and Social Studies?

Finally, how easy would it be to test a students learning style, knowledge at the start of the summer program and retest the results at the end of a semester.  Not only by asking students to do standardized testing  but to demonstrate their skills  with projects that they had worked on during the semester.  This is the challenge, we have the tools, where are the leaders to make it happen?