Maybe, for some schools whose students lag behind, as a way to catch up.
[HISD] is designing a pilot program to allow a handful of struggling schools to adopt an extended-year calendar starting this fall. The reform effort — estimated to cost around $500,000 per school — includes two more weeks of class for students. The schools, which have not been chosen, also could see a staff shake-up.
[…]
The alternative calendar, which the school board approved last week, divides the year into quarters, with two-week breaks about every two-and-a-half months. Summer vacation would span three weeks instead of the typical three months.
“As educators, we know that the summer’s way too long,” said Peter Heinze, the principal of Briarmeadow, a combined elementary and middle school in HISD.
Research is clear that students, particularly those from low-income families, lose significant ground during the traditional summer break, said Ron Fairchild, chief executive officer of the National Summer Learning Association in Baltimore. Studies are less conclusive about the best way to keep students from regressing, though some data show that a quality six-week program can counteract summer learning loss, he said.
“We definitely need more studies on the issue, but I think it’s encouraging to see more districts like Houston that are willing to experiment,” Fairchild said.
Cost is a concern, as is ensuring you have the teacher there that you want, but this sounds like a decent idea to me. As with all things, there needs to be a way to define success and measure performance to see if it’s doing what you want, and if not what if anything can be done to get it there. Assuming we’ll have that, I say it’s worth a try.