Longer VA School Year Rejected By Most, Year-Round School Has Some Support In Patch Survey

VIRGINIA — While two schools in Richmond are trying out a school year with 20 more days, a survey of Virginia Patch readers found a majority wouldn't want a longer school year. On the other hand, reader comments suggested some support for a year-round school year with periodic breaks.

The survey on the school year length stems from Richmond Public Schools starting a 200-day school year pilot program at two schools — Fairfield Court Elementary and Cardinal Elementary School to address learning lost by COVID-19 school closures and other impacts of the pandemic, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Those schools started the school year on Monday, about a month earlier than most Virginia K-12 schools will begin.

The standard for most school districts is a 180-day school year, which is required under Virginia law.

"There may be students who would benefit from being in school more and the counties should provide programs for those kids but it should definitely not be the norm to have more school days," a respondent said. "Lots of time in school is already wasted and seems more babysitting than actual learning. We don’t need more of that for everyone."

Our survey from midday Tuesday, July 25 to midday Thursday, July 27, had nearly 600 responses with 57.8 percent of respondents indicating they have school-aged children. A majority of respondents — 61.4 percent — live in the Fairfax County Public Schools district.

The next highest groups of respondents were 11 percent from the Prince William County Public Schools district, 7.5 percent from Loudoun County Public Schools, 7.3 percent from Alexandria City Public Schools and 2.5 percent from Arlington Public Schools. Patch responses from around Virginia, from Fredericksburg, Stafford County and Spotysylvania County to Chesapeake and Culpeper County.

Overall, 58.3 percent said they don't support a longer school year beyond the required 180 instructional days in Virginia. Another 34.2 percent support the idea and 7.5 percent were unsure.

Given Richmond Public Schools cited learning loss as a reason to test the 200-day school year, 55.1 percent of respondents believe a longer school year won't curb learning loss.

"A longer school year is not going to help. It will hurt families being able to spend quality family time together. I do think it is ok to send work home with children to be done over the summer to keep them learning," one respondent wrote in the comments section of the survey.

On the other hand, 34.6 percent believe the school year should be longer than 180 days.

"My son just aged out of FCPS special education and many in his class would have benefitted from more time in school," one reader shared. "Consistency is imperative for learning and mental health."

"Standardized text scores are a strong indicator that education of our children suffered during the pandemic," one respondent said. "A longer school year would help to address this issue. We need our young people to be well educated for the future of our commonwealth and the future of our country."

"I think we should keep kids in school as long as we can. Keep them busy and keep them learning. Parents who pay for camp need relief," another shared.

Some who support a longer school year believe that would warrant additional funding support for schools.

"If longer school year, then pay the teachers more! They are stressed beyond their limits. Having to catch up with learning loss and so many demands put upon them," one respondent shared. "Plus there are so many special needs kids or behavioral (emotional) issues with kids which puts additional stress on them."

Others shared support for year-round school with longer breaks in between.

"I’d be more interested in year round school that allows for periodic breaks during the year," said one respondent. "The breaks could be used like vacation for some families but could also be used to focus on academic needs of a smaller group- enrichment projects or tutoring more like summer school."

Start and End Times for School Year

We also asked readers about their preferred times for the school year to start and end. Until 2019, a Virginia law nicknamed the "Kings Dominion Law" prevented school districts from opening before Labor Day unless they applied for a waiver due to a large number of snow days in the previous school year. New Virginia legislation approved in 2019 changed that, allowing school divisions to open two weeks before Labor Day if they give students a four-day Labor Day weekend break. Many school districts now start before Labor Day.

In our survey, 39.8 percent of the respondents said they would prefer a start time after Labor Day, which is usually in early September. Another 25.8 percent supported a start one week before Labor Day, and 18.6 percent prefer two weeks before Labor Day. There were 13.6 percent who prefer a start in early August and 2.2 percent in late July.

"Our kids are older, and always started school after Labor Day," one respondent shared. "When they made the switch, it seemed crazy for the kids to be in school for a week and then have four days off. Sandwiching the summer break between July 4 and Labor Day seems to make sense."

"Reduce the excess school holidays and teacher work days added in recent years. Start the school year right after Labor Day and conclude by mid June," another reader said.

Nearly half — 47.3 percent — believe the school year should end in early June. A school year ending in mid-June is preferred by 27.8 percent of respondents, and 18.3 percent preferred late June. A small share indicated ending before or around Memorial Day would be ideal.

Notable Responses from Our Survey

Here are other notable thoughts from readers about the school year timing in the comments section of the survey. Feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments.

In Favor of Rear-Round School

• "My grandson attended 'year round' schooling in San Diego, CA. Of course he had more weeks off/breaks during the school year especially around holidays. Transition from one grade to the next required him to complete an assignment during the summer break in preparation for the new school year. He was always in a learning mode. Biggest push back will be parents stuck on the traditional mind set."
• A longer school year would help parents who struggle with the cost of childcare. But in order to make this fair to teachers and staff, we need to fully fund our schools, including [Standards of Quality], and provide teachers the pay that they deserve. We also need to increase the number of operational staff and pay them well. Extending the school year only makes sense if we are truly willing to invest in public education as fully as possible.
• The school year is already long enough. If Virginia school district wanted to create four- to six-week breaks in the winter, then I would support a shorter summer break.
• As an educator for 18 years, 180 days is long enough. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to a different schedule - where there are longer breaks scheduled throughout the year. Maybe a week or 10 days off in between quarters 1, 2, and 3, with maybe 2-3 weeks off after quarter 4?
• My children are grown, but when they were going to school, I wished they had more time. As the first 2-3 months they are in review of what they learned last school year and next month or so they are prepping for SOL's (not of fan of those). I grew up in Loudoun County in the early 70's my the first three years of elementary school they did a pilot program of year-round school. We got two days off for Thanksgiving, a week for Christmas, a week for spring break, a week off in June/July/August for a summer break. There were also a few teacher workdays throughout the year. I thought that was a great idea. The parents and teachers did not. Therefore, the program was removed.
• If we have a longer school year, then a week-long fall break in October is necessary, like other school districts have around the country. Now that school districts in NOVA have adopted inclusive religious holiday calendars, we have too many singular random days off in the middle of the week, which doesn’t help teachers who are trying to address learning loss because it reduces the days they have in each learning unit and breaks up the momentum they need to solidify those concepts each quarter.
• Take a look at the British public school system. They end school end of July, but they have mini weeklong vacations sprinkled in throughout the year. It decreases learning loss in the summer and still preserves rest for all throughout the year.
• I support the concept of year round school with blocks of time off throughout the year. I think students would benefit from more time in school doing more active learning (i.e., more game based play, school sports teams and special skill development like cooking, personal finance, and community service projects) not just more desk/classroom time.

In Favor of Keeping Summer Break

• I think kids, teachers, parents all need the break from school to spend time on vacations and spend time together as a family. I understand there was a loss of learning but pushing the kids more or teachers more is not solving the problems. Changing the way things are taught to add the missing lessons that are need and remove things that are not important for future education. Kids, teachers and parents all have equal stress than putting more pressure on them. For most kids have caught up and working hard to achieve the goals they need to succeed in school.
• I am a grandmother and former educator whose children went to Fairfax county and whose grandchildren are in Fairfax county. Children need a rest for their minds and bodies from the stress of long school days and years.
• Beyond learning loss (which is well documented) the other piece of this is the abysmal child care options in place during the school year and during the summer. Another angle to present is whether a longer school DAY is a better way.
• Kids can learn outside of school as well as in school. I believe a full 10 week or more summer is needed for kids to explore other interests outside of academics. Kids need time to play outside, do sports and camps, craft, etc, as well has have time to spend with their family and travel to see extended family. There is more to a full life and education than academics.
• I'm a former educator who has taught pre-K, elementary (K,1,2,3,4,5) and middle school (6,8). A longer school year doesn't make for increased learning. If the year is extended, though, I wouldn't recommend going beyond 200 days. We all need a break - students, educators, and support staff alike! Better learning occurs after breaks and "brain breaks."
• Learning losses can be addressed in other ways also, like consolidating some learning standards and spending more time on foundational math skills, for example, if results show weakness in those areas. If the school year would be lengthened, would school district employees pay be increased for working more days?
• Kids are resilient & will catch up. They need a long Summer vacation. Let them be kids, and stop trying to extend the school year.
• Childhood learning and enrichment isn’t just about hours logged in an institution. Let children have a childhood, give them free time for independent/creative learning. Stop chiseling away at their summers.