query: education organizing

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

[ed:  please feel welcomed to discuss the community organizing 
dimensions of Doug's query on-list, but I would prefer any debate on 
whether to lengthen the school year take place off-list.]

From: DougRHess at aol.com

Hi, comm-orgers (?; comm-orgians?):
 
Here's a question that's always rattled around in my head and I'm thinking  
some people on here might have the answer to it. Perhaps it's there's 
obvious  
answers (see below), but I've always wondered why there's not a movement 
or  
campaign for a longer school year. Many other nations have longer school 
years  
than we do and the benefits to the poor would be obvious (more time for 
kids
in  supervised setting making work easier for parents, additional nutrition
program  participation (a net transfer to the poor), and less chance of 
kids
from  low-income households falling behind their wealthier peers over the  
now-shortened summer break (that there is a summer-decline gap is well  
researched)).
 
Obviously there are administrative and political hurdles to overcome (not  
all schools are prepared for the hottest days of summer and there are  
increased
costs all around and a change to the lives of teachers, staff, etc.).  
But it
seems that the benefits to the folks we organize would be worth it, 
even  it
the summer vacation was only cut by a few weeks. Or are many low income  
children already are in summer schools or summer programs of some kind 
that make  
the need less apparent?
 
Children may hate me (but they always give my the flu any, the li'l  
vermin):
but why not year-round schooling?
 
-Doug