Despite its failure in D.C. public schools, MCPS plans to implement longer school years in two elementary schools to combat summer learning loss.
D.C. spent $7.5 million and added 20 extra days to the school year in 13 “low performing” elementary schools. These longer periods in school caused staff burnout, and there wasn’t enough of a difference in summer learning loss to justify the change.
However, MCPS spokesman Derek Turner believes MCPS is going to do things differently. so they won’t end up with the same results as D.C. schools. He said the program will be structured differently and will include more days of instruction.
The Montgomery County school board already approved new academic calendars for Arcola and Roscoe R. Nix elementary schools in December. The new plan will increase the school year by 30 days and costs $1 million in the first year alone.
With the new school calendar, Arcola and Roscoe R. Nix will begin the school year on July 8, 2019, and end on June 11, 2020. If the plan continues into the year after that, students will have less than a month of summer break.
70 percent of the students at Arcola and Roscoe R. Nix receive free or reduced price lunches, and the communities that go to these schools are considered “majority-minority,” meaning that the majority of students are non-white. Many of the children that will be helped by the new school calendar come from low-income homes, and could benefit from more instructional time.
Arcola teaches children from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade, while Roscoe R. Nix has pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade. Developing good study habits at a young age can help students maintain higher grades as they age, so starting with elementary school-age children would help the county support young learners. Additionally, longer school years have the largest impact on children with special needs and English language learners, allowing them to have more time with dedicated staff to help them learn.
Because low income families are less likely to be able to afford expensive books and tutors, their children tend to experience the most summer learning loss. Many of these families rely on schools to provide them low cost meals, and summertime can be difficult for them.
125 teachers at these elementary schools will receive a raise of $2,000 to their paycheck, while principals will get an extra $9,000 and vice principals will get $4,000. The average yearly salary of a teacher in Montgomery County is $65,000.
Because this is such a new policy, teachers that return to teach for the next year will get an additional $750 to reward them for sticking with the change. If teachers and staff are unsatisfied with the policy change after the end of the school year, they can apply to be transferred to a school that uses the standard school year calendar.
Teachers will also get another day of paid leave, while administrators will get an additional three.
Walter Johnson parent Maureen Conley agrees with the county’s goals, but isn’t entirely sure about their plan. “I understand summer learning loss is a big problem, especially for disadvantaged students,” she said. “I don’t know if there are different solutions, but I think schools need to find a way to level the playing field between economically disadvantaged students and the kids that are better off.”
The achievement gap is still a problem across the country, but is significantly wider in Montgomery County. By allocating resources to schools that teach low income students, the county may be able to close the gap, or at least shrink it.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Shannon Engel of Walter Johnson High School