Relax, you can handle year-round

Moving from the comforts of a traditional school schedule to the fear of the unknown in a year-round school schedule can cause emotions that run from exciting to terrifying. At times, it might seem impossible to create a successful transition plan to a new school calendar.

Embracing the change requires creativity, courage and planning. Carolyn Koning, PTA president at year-round Green Elementary, offers this for parents: "It's not terrible. Your world will not end. You can go on vacation. You will find child care."

There is a shift from thinking that school should be in session for only 10 months to discovering that sessions can occur year-round.

There are four tracks in a year-round schedule, with three tracks in session at any time and one track out of session. This allows the school to provide seats for additional students, but each track schedule has positive and negative aspects:

* Track 1 has a schedule that ends close to the traditional calendar break, with a longer break in September. The downside comes from an earlier winter break.

* Track 2 enjoys a break at the end of the summer and has an extended break over Thanksgiving. It differs the most from a traditional calendar.

* Track 3 has vacation opportunities in every season. But as with tracks 1 and 2, school begins in July, which can make the first year adjustment to a new schedule more challenging.

* Track 4 is the closest to the traditional school calendar and benefits from a longer break in October. For some families, the extended break in January is difficult to manage.

During off-track sessions, families can schedule doctor's appointments during normal office hours, vacation at a reduced cost and have more family time.

For students who need extra support with academics, there are opportunities to receive tutoring. Some families say it is easier to arrange child care for shorter holidays and they have greater flexibility in budget planning.

One of the biggest fears for parents is that children will be placed on different tracks. "It just doesn't happen," said Sarah Martin, PTA president at Morrisville Elementary, a year-round school. The school system can't guarantee two students won't end up on different tracks, but it is exceedingly rare to find a family who is enduring a multitrack lifestyle within the same school.

Because high schools can't run on a year-round schedule, families with children in high school and year-round middle or elementary schools do have to plan more to manage schedules.

Planning is also important for PTAs gearing up for a year-round schedule. Cindy Smith, Wake PTA Council president, said, "It's time to get this show on the road with nominating committees for PTA officers who begin a new schedule soon."

Smith said a PTA is like a business, and the PTA president manages it much like a CEO would. The planning includes backup plans for when board members are tracked out and managing PTA programs for four tracks. Some events such as Meet the Teacher night have to be run twice.

Wake Schools Reassignment