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by Paul Marsh
In 1968, Park School, in the Hayward, California, Unified School District,
became America's first year-round school. Some camps took this calendar
change as a threat to their existence as summer providers of youth development
programs. Since that time, organizations that provide summer camp experiences
for youth have expressed concern about the impact of year-round school
on their livelihood.
However, experience and research suggest that camps are well equipped
to participate in year-round education at the community level. In fact,
the ability of camp programs to effectively meet the development and social
needs of youth places camps in a position to be highly effective, active
participants in year-round education. The opportunity lies in the active
participation by camps in year-round education through outdoor and environmental
education programs. Expansion of these programs will expose a greater
percentage of the population to camp's benefits. This exposure in turn
provides the opportunity to build additional participation in traditional
camp programs.
What Is Year-round School?
The National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE) defines year-round
education as the reorganization of the school calendar to provide more
continuous learning. The time block of the traditional extended summer
vacation is redistributed in the form of shorter breaks throughout the
year. NAYRE's definition is actually the definition of year-round schooling.
Year-round education represents a learning process that cannot be confined
to the time spent in school.
According to NAYRE's 1998-99 school-year statistics, just over 2 million
students took part in year-round school programs. The vast majority of
these students attended public elementary schools. In contrast, ACA estimates
that in 1999 about 8,500 camps served approximately 9 million American
youth. Most campers attend camp for one to two weeks, with some camps
offering sessions up to eight weeks in length.
U.S. Department of Education statistics show about 53 million students
attended school in the fall of 1998. Thus, year-round schools represent
approximately 3.8 percent of the student population; campers represent
nearly 17 percent of school-aged youth. While the number of campers has
grown rapidly, 8 percent from 1998 to 1999, the number of participants
in year-round schools has remained flat for the last few years.
Understanding the year-round school calendar
Year-round school calendars are as numerous as are year-round schools.
These calendar variations, called tracks, are broken into a number of
in-school weekdays followed by a number of intersession, or vacation,
weekdays. Typical track schedules are forty-five or sixty in-school days
followed by fifteen or twenty days of intersession, respectively. Multi-track
systems stagger tracks, with a given percentage of students out of school
at any one time. The majority of year-round schools use a single-tracked
system. Typically, each school adopts its own calendar based on community
needs.
Why Year-round School?
Pressure from declining performance of students in public schools and
on state and local government to effectively manage budgets has caused
some school districts to look a the feasibility of, or change to, a year-round
school program.
The common sense benefit of year-round school is in meeting population
growth demands by adjusting the school calendar in order to keep
school facilities full throughout the year. The alternative is building
new facilities that would have a traditional utilization pattern. Facility
utilization is the primary reason that communities adopt a year-round
calendar.
Year-round school is also supposed to generate better learning by making
education a more continuous process. This increased effectiveness would
be reflected in higher test scores. However, results of research
conducted on increased effectiveness is still highly debated. A review
of fifteen studies conducted between 1986 and 1996 shows only a very small
positive increase in test scores when compared to scores from schools
with traditional calendars.
Other justifications for adopting the year-round calendar suggest that
social need is a factor. There are social problems related to a lack of
parental supervision after school and during traditional length summer
vacations. Furthermore, the realities of our education system are declining
performance at all levels and a serious deficiency in the ability of our
population to read, write and effectively use language skills.
Year-round School's Impact
Given the statistics, most camps' client base is not likely to be greatly
affected by the change in school calendars. If a school system operates
with a sixty-day in-school period, that means there will be different
children on vacation for a period of twelve weeks over the course of the
summer. With less than 4 percent of the school-age population being affected
by year-round school and most camps drawing clients from more than one
school, the potential impact of year-round school becomes less significant.
Furthermore, the traditional staffing base of high school students is
very likely to remain intact.
However, camps faced by the impact of year-round school do face real
issues. The year-round school summer break lasts anywhere from three to
eight weeks, depending on the individual school's track system. Therefore,
camps offering four or eight week sessions may need to shorten their session
length. Camps with shorter sessions may find it necessary to adjust their
session schedules and focus their marketing efforts toward the specific
tracks of the schools that are part of their existing client base.
There is no denying that the environment in which these camps operate
has changed and that this change may last for some time. With planning,
however, these camps can turn year-round school into an opportunity, including
the potential for the extension of the camp season.
Opportunities for Growth
Several steps can be taken in order to capitalize on the opportunities
that arise from the circumstance of the year-round school calendar in
a community.
Get involved in year-round education
The first thing a camp can do is to become involved in year-round education.
Camps can turn to one another, to local schools, to their affiliating
associations, to professional associations like ACA and the Association
for Experiential Education (AEE), and to universities for help in developing
outdoor and environmental education programs. Programs can be offered
spring, summer and fall if a camp does not have winterized facilities.
The educational aspects of these programs can even be used to compliment
the local year-round school curriculum. The ACA Standards Program has
changed from accrediting just the summer program to accrediting the year-round
operation. This evolution provides a national standard for all camping
operations. The national standard further enhances the credibility of
camping's participation in year-round education.
Stress camp's benefits
Camps should actively point out the established benefits of the camp experience
whenever and wherever the chance arises. Research indicates that camp
programs that deliberately strive to enhance self-constructs in youth
do make a positive difference in self-esteem. Other research indicates
that camps do a better job than most schools in meeting the developmental
needs of youth. These advantages are a cornerstone to including camp as
part of year-round education in a community.
Get involved in the community
If local schools are looking into a year-round calendar, a camp should
get involved in helping the community to plan for year-round education.
Camping's expertise and experience in youth programming makes it a valuable
asset to community decision-making. Becoming involved with the local community
and as a partner in education with local schools can provide the opportunity
for a camp to become part of the school curriculum through programs that
offer outdoor and environmental education. There is also the opportunity
to provide traditional camp programs for students during many, if not
all, of the intersession periods.
Adjust programs
Finally, a camp should adjust programs to meet the needs or constraints
of the client base. If a camp's client base is impacted by year-round
school, then summer session length may need to be adjusted accordingly.
Those camps that will be most challenged by this issue are those that
offer sessions longer than four weeks. With over 50 percent of year-round
schools using a single-track system, the actual need for accommodating
this issue is likely to be small.
Adopt a Strategy for Success
The threat of year-round school to camping is perceived. Once the issues
are examined and understood, the opportunities that actually exist are
exciting. That does not mean it will be an easy transition. However, camp
teaches the very skills that will allow camps to respond to these opportunities.
The strategy for success is to be active and creative. Camps should attempt
to inform parents and educators about the benefits and possibilities that
exist in both summer and outdoor/environmental education programs. Being
creative in working with the schools, parent organizations, and other
community agencies to help develop year-round education programming
that meets the community's needs will also further the cause of camp involvement.
Every organization has constraints and shortcomings, successful communities
recognize this and work together to take advantage of each organization's
strengths.
Be positive, patient, and persistent. Camp offers the resources to help
a community meet the needs of youth. After all, it is still about making
a difference in the life of a child.
Answering the Staff Challenge
Staffing of expanded programs and seasons may be one of the biggest challenges
faced in meeting the needs of a year-round school calendar. There are
several potential sources of staffing for expansion of camping programs
that can be used in response to the change.
Currently, the number of university recreation degree programs is expanding
in America. Typically, many of these students are both interested in working
in the year-round education field and are required by their academic programs
to participate in internship programs. College students are also a potential
source of summer staff who can provide continuity for the length of the
summer program. These college students can be assisted by different groups
of high school students as they rotate through their intersession breaks.
There are also several reputable placement agencies that bring young people
from overseas to work in summer camp programs. These firms would likely
welcome the opportunity to expand their businesses.
Senior citizens and retired people are another group who are often interested
in spending part of their day working in the community. Also, the expansion
of the camp program will mean the creation of year-round jobs, with professional
staff to deliver programs. Some scholars and practitioners have even suggested
working to set up programs with local schools for students to earn credit
while completing service work at camps.
Camp Meets Developmental Needs
Camp is successful at meeting the seven developmental needs of adolescence
established by the Center for Early Adolescence at the University of North
Carolina; the average school is good at meeting only two or three. The
seven developmental needs of young adolescents are defined as:
- Positive social interactions with peers and adults
- Structure and clear limits
- Physical activity
- Creative expression
- Competence and achievement
- Meaningful participation in home, school, and community
- Self definition
Thus, parents send their children to camp for self-development and outdoor
experience, as well as for fun.
Originally published in the 2000 July/August
issue of Camping Magazine. |
