Imagine instead of a long, relaxing, summer break, students only get a few weeks off every now and then. Year-round schooling basically means students attend school six to nine weeks in a row with a week-long break and then repeat the process. States like Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas already have year-round schools. This idea of year-round schooling seems like a bad idea for all involved.

Students might get overwhelmed with the workload and have to remember everything after a couple weeks rather than gradually getting refreshers after a two-month long break.

Additionally, teachers are allowed a very little amount of time to plan for the next year. Teachers would be stressed with getting lesson plans and materials ready in a short amount of time.

Counselors would also be hurt by this year-round schooling system. At North there are roughly 2,322 students. For counselors that means 2,322 different schedules that need to be figured out.  Each student has specifically selected courses he or she wants to take for the next year. Currently, counselors start this process in February.  That is six months before school starts. With a year-round school system, counselors would only be given a week or two to figure thousands of schedules out.

The physical school building would also suffer from a year-round schooling system. During the summer, most schools invest money and time in improving and deep cleaning the school. Having students in the school year-round would mean that the school cannot make any drastic changes or improvements because students would be constantly present. For example, when North painted the field house a couple years ago, they did it over the summer because students were not in the way. This would not be possible with year-round schooling. Instead, projects would have to be started when students went on a break and put on pause when students came back.

Having school year-round would also mean that the district would have to spend a lot more money on maintaining the air-conditioning systems and running them since students would be in school during the hottest months of the year. With the summer break system, schools shut off or turn down the air conditioning. This saves not only money but also energy and is more environmentally friendly. Schools would be forced to keep the air conditioning up and running with year-round schooling raising operation costs.

Students would also be hurt by this year-round system. No summer break means they have no time to relax, sleep in and enjoy being a kid or teenager. Under the current system, with the stress of the school year gone, students get a chance to have fun and focus their time and attention on other interests. Students also get a chance to enjoy the nice weather fully without being interrupted by homework. One week off every two months does not allow students the same time to relax and unwind.

No summer break also means teenagers who are saving money up for college or a car would not be allowed to have summer jobs. With schools and extra-curriculars, it is very difficult to find a job during the school year. Summer is the prime time for students to find jobs to make some money.

Students might also get overwhelmed with the workload and have to remember everything after a couple weeks rather than gradually getting refreshers after a two-month long break.

Students who are in transition grades such as from elementary school to middle school and middle school to high school would have less time to prepare, mature and learn responsibility before they start school again. That transition to a new school can cause a lot of anxiety for students and having the two-month break prior to starting at a new school allows those kids to prepare and ease anxiety.

A year-round schooling system would also cause some issues for extracurricular clubs and sports. Usually, teams and clubs use summer to add in practice and compete in bigger tournaments and travel. These tournaments and competitions are crucial time for players to improve their skills and also for high school athletes to be scouted.

Most showcase events for potential collegiate athletes are over the summer. A lot of national championships for club sports are over the summer, too, which many teams spend months preparing for. A year-round schooling system would inhibit many players from reaching their full potential and possibly being scouted.

Year-round schooling also impacts family time and the prime time for families to go on vacations. During the school year and breaks, it can be hard to schedule vacations or family time. Having school year-round could be tricky for families to spend quality time together.

Year-round schooling has more negative aspects than it does positive. Students, teachers, parents and staff would all be negatively impacted by year-round schools.