Once promising year-round schools fade away

Published February 11, 2016

Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, February 11, 2016

When the new calendar was introduced here, there was a lot of enthusiasm for year-round schools.

Teachers, students and parents all liked the idea, which substituted more short breaks between semesters, instead of one big summer vacation.

There's a good educational theory behind the year-round calendar: Quite simply, a lot of kids forget key concepts when they're away from class all summer, and they start a new school year behind. With shorter breaks, the year-round schools prevent that brain drain.

But one by one, the year-round programs are dying - and not just in Cumberland County. Moore County just returned four schools to a traditional schedule, and in the process saved about $400,000.

In Cumberland, the year-round schools were a bad match for military schedules. And they don't tend to do well in places with a highly transient population like ours. Several schools here have gone back to a traditional calendar, and two more elementary schools will do the same next fall.

By the next school year, Cumberland and Lee will be the only counties in this region with any year-round schools. Although the concept is thriving in places like Wake County, it appears it's just not for us.