As the winter months are quickly passing by, students are building up anticipation for the three-month long summer vacation that awaits them. However, unbeknownst to some, this lengthy break impedes a student’s academic potential. Soaking in the sun for months on end may give a nice tan, but it also erases much of what is learned from the previous school year. To counteract this, year-round schooling would be the best option, as breaks from schools would be much shorter and greater in number. Contrary to what many high school students think, a year-round school schedule does not mean less time off. Students get just as much time off, but the time is spread throughout the year. Imagine weeks off during the ski season or during the spring?

Year-round schooling offers several benefits that the traditional school year does not provide. When students return to their classrooms in September, they often begin the course by reviewing material that they learned during the last school year. Very few are immune to forgetting at least some of what they learned over the course of the three-month summer vacation. “I’d prefer a shorter summer break,” said Senior Jackie Tran. “Our brains can’t retain that much information for so long. Or at least most of us can’t.”

Thus, teachers are required to spend valuable time reviewing familiar, yet forgotten material. With threats of instructional time being cut even more due to the always-looming budget concerns, it’s impractical to have students spend so much time reviewing old material when they could be working on new topics.

More frequent breaks between schooling would leave both students and teachers rejuvenated. Long spans of learning can become difficult for students, as they are constantly moving on to the next unit of study without having the chance to work on material that they may have gotten behind on. Students could spend time catching up on their studies before returning to school.

Several studies have been conducted to test the effectiveness of year-round schooling in comparison to the traditional model. For example, according to a report from the California Department of Education, more students in year-round schools met state testing standards than did students in schools that follow the traditional school year (cde.ca.gov). The combination of shortening the long summer break and adding smaller, spaced-out breaks is sure to have attributed to the students’ success. That same success could be imitated here at UC High if the San Diego Unified School District ditched the traditional school year for the year-round model.