That ski area operator’s fantasy is shared by the National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE), a San Diego-based organization that advocates year-round schooling.
Year-round education is a controversial, but an increasingly acceptable alternative to the nine-month school year, that essentially eliminates the long summer vacation and puts elementary and high school students on a staggered schedule. Each student receives the usual 180 days or more annually of classroom time, but vacations are distributed across the calendar year, including weeks off in January and April. Advocates say that year-round schools are more effective educationally (less down time for students to forget what they learned).
Year-round schools were launched in California more than 20 years ago as a way to reduce overcrowding. Currently, year-round schools account for 1.6 million students in more than 35 states, most concentrated in California and Texas.
While there are many ways to configure the school calendar for year-round education, one popular plan offers nine weeks of instruction followed by 15 days of vacation. That allows for a three-week break in January and another in April when ski resorts are begging for customers.
There is “enormous opportunity” for ski areas to develop programs tailored to the students and their families, says NAYRE executive director Dr. Charles Ballinger. The organization is holding a convention in Orlando in February and Michael Berry, president of NSAA, promises to attend. “This brings to mind the French experience where children have a winter vacation,” he says. “It could provide an opportunity for children in this country to learn a lifetime sport.”
