Does Arizona have year round school

Q: Why does Arizona start school so early?

Due to the climate and type of growing thats done in Arizona, end of summer harvest is not an issue. In addition, Arizona students have extra breaks in their schedule during the school year, so the earlier start date helps to compensate for that.

Taylor Peterson starts his first day of kindergarden at Centennial Elementary School in the Higley Unified School District.

Table of Contents Show

Year-round calendar
Year-round school districts
Reasoning behind year-round schooling
Is school in Arizona year
How long is a school year in Arizona?
Do any US states have year
Why does Arizona start school so early?

Through our Q&AZ reporting project, several of you asked why schools here resume in August instead of after Labor Day (Thanks, Rick Aylward, Valerie Lim and Stuart Gavzy!)

KJZZ researched the start dates of the state’s 30 largest school districts by enrollment and found that about 77,000 students will already be in school by Aug. 1.

Gilbert’s Higley Unified School District started July 22.

“I like it because it’s so hot outside that we’re kinda done swimming, so it’s time for school to start,” said mom Kathryn Peterson as she walked her son Taylor to his kindergarten classroom.

Inside, she hooked his Super Mario backpack over the back of his chair and got ready to say goodbye.

“OK, are you good?” Peterson asked.

“Yeah!”

“Have fun!”

Taylor started carefully coloring in the outline of a bear with a brown crayon.

Several years ago, the Higley Unified School District switched to a modified year-round schedule, which means longer breaks in the fall and spring in exchange for a shorter summer break.

“Opportunities for children to get extra support and extra help in fall break and spring break really leads to a more successful academic experience for all grade levels,” said Superintendent Mike Thomason.

Another benefit is that students have more time to prepare for standardized testing in May.

The Chandler Unified School District, which started one day after Higley, has followed a modified calendar since the 1990s.

District spokesman Terry Locke said the shorter summer helps students retain information that’s lost over a long summer break. Locke said a traditional school calendar had more to do with farming than education.

CNN reported rural school calendars were shaped by agriculture and students often had the fall and spring off to help with planting and harvesting.

The same article pointed out that schools in Georgia, Arkansas and Florida are among those that have adopted pre-Labor Day start days for school.

In 2015, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, a Republican from Gilbert, sponsored a bill that would have required Arizona public schools to start after Labor Day.

That bill was held in committees.

Legally Arizona school districts must have at least 180 days of school a year and a specific number of instructional minutes per day depending on the grade level, but can otherwise choose when they begin and end, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

It seems that more and more Phoenix-area school districts are moving towards a modified year round calendar, with the Higley district being the latest to make the change starting next school year. Mesa Public Schools is also apparently considering doing so as well, and if they do they would join Chandler, Queen Creek, and Higley in the modified year round club.

I was wondering, does anyone think that there is a trend that more and more Phoenix area school districts will move to a modified year round calendar?

There is some debate as to whether having year-round schooling is beneficial to students. Many believe that this would not be an effective means of teaching students while others think this system would give students a great academic advantage. Following this second line of thought, a number of states have already put this educational calendar into effect.

Year-round calendar

The year-round school calendar doesn’t mean students are stuck in school all year with no break. Year-round school is based on a yearly calendar that consists of a rearrangement of the typical school calendar.

Typically, students go to school in September with time off in November when they have their Thanksgiving recess. They have a vacation in December for the winter recess, which lasts until after the New Year. Students continue at school until a spring recess break, followed by a few more holidays and days off for parent-teacher meetings. By early or mid-June, students will begin their summer vacation, which will generally last until late August or early September.

The year-round calendar decreases the amount of time that students are off in the summer by a few weeks. School districts reallocate those summer weeks off, throughout the remainder of the school year. School districts advocate that a year-round calendar is much better for student learning outcomes, because they avoid learning loss that often occurs during the summer months out of the classroom.

Pros

Consistent practice of effective study habits.
Better retainment of course material, without risking the “summer slide”.
Students form closer social relationships with friends.
Create and keep better relationships with teachers.
Keep children intellectually engaged and out of trouble.

Cons

Children do not get a traditional summer break.
Children can get overwhelmed by the heavier on-campus requirement.
Teachers can become more easily burnt out with too little prep time in between class breaks.
Harder to develop a common sense of school spirit with the alternating school sessions.

Year-round school districts

According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, there are a number school districts throughout the nation that follow the year-round school calendar. These school districts are located in the following states:

Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Nevada
North Carolina
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin

Reasoning behind year-round schooling

There are several reasons why some year-round school advocates have chosen to implement this type of education. Some school districts believe it will help students retain their knowledge of what they have been taught. Other districts state that this method is more effective and helpful concerning issues with overcrowding in some school districts.

Whether having school year-round is proven the most effective way is simply a matter of opinion. In some cases this system is effective, but not in others. It is unlikely that either method will be perfect, and parents will have to decide what is best for their child and family.

Is school in Arizona year

How long is a school year in Arizona?

State	Minimum amount of instructional times per school year (by grade, if applicable)
	In days	In hours
Alaska	180	Grades kindergarten-3=740; grades 4-12=900
Arizona	180	Half-day kindergarten=356; grades 1-3=712; grades 4-6=890; grades 7-8=1,000; grades 9-12=720 (excludes lunch and recess for grades kindergarten-8)
Arkansas	178	†

Table 5.14. Number of instructional days and hours in the school year ...nces.ed.gov › programs › statereform › tab5_14null

Do any US states have year

Data from the National Association of Year-Round Education shows that schools in 46 states and the District of Columbia have adopted a year-round format and that nearly 3 million K-12 students in the U.S. attend a year-round school.

Why does Arizona start school so early?

Due to the climate and type of growing that's done in Arizona, end of summer harvest is not an issue. In addition, Arizona students have extra breaks in their schedule during the school year, so the earlier start date helps to compensate for that.