Summer School Blues?
Imagine a school where a full teaching load is four or five courses. School would only to be open eight or ten hours to operate two complete school sessions in the same classroom. The efficient use of electives which take place in special classrooms (physical education, music, art, drama, etc.) can be used to keep students rotating properly. Teacher planning periods could be used to help teachers make use of their time efficiently.
Another scenario might involve a longer school day which would allow some students to start early and other later but would not actually provide for two complete sets of students. Both possibilities would involve a lot of planning, but it would allow expensive buildings to be used more productively.
Allowing schools to operate all year provides an alternative to empty school buildings. The question that must be answered involves whether we want to allow a four quarter year where students would be allowed to select which of three quarters they wanted to attend or establish a longer school year. Right now, Georgia requires 180 days of school. Adding another 20-40 days and rearranging holidays would make school a year-round experience. Considering that the school year is what it was 50 years ago before computers and 50 more years of history, literature, and science, this might not be such a bad idea. Some life skills classes might be added like budgeting, finances, first aid, and other subjects which might allow students to become more productive and effective citizens. There might also be time for study hall time which would allow students access to teachers for after school tutoring as needed. Trained volunteers could be used for some of those responsibilities.
Elementary schools might offer longer days with better before and after school programs which would reduce the stress that parents have when having to take care of those hours when they need to be at work but the school is not open. Allowing different school schedules would allow parents to overlap work hours in a way that would allow them to spend more time with each other and their families.
If the ideas seem half-baked, they are. There are so many possible solutions. Each community needs to look at its own environment and problems to decide what works best. About the only definitive thing I have to suggest is, look at the possibilities. Find the solutions that work best
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