La Crosse, WI (WXOW)-- One La Crosse school may switch to a year-round schedule. The idea is to prevent the so-called summer-slide, where kids forget things they've learned over break and have to play catch-up in the fall.
Hamilton elementary is close to adopting a year-round schedule for the K-2 learning program.
"When we take those 12 weeks off in the summer, we find that some students, depending on the supports they have over the summer, or don't have, some students really fall backwards a little bit," said Randy Nelson, Superintendent of the La Crosse School District.
The proposed calendar is set up in a quarter system, so students are in class for nine weeks then off for three.
"During that time there would still be supports in place," Nelson said. "And that students would be finding opportunities either for some enrichment activities for those three weeks, but also for students who require more supports in reading, math or other content areas."
While the year-round calendar has the same number of academic days as a traditional schedule there are some concerns from parents.
"A parent who has, for example, a child at this elementary school but also one in middle school on a traditional calendar," Nelson said. "So they might have kids who are on two different calendars. So, that's probably the biggest challenge."
And while the superintendent says he still has some questions that need to be answered, he does support the plan.
"Do we really need to do business the same way as we have for the last 90 to 100 years, simply because we've just always done it that way?" Nelson said. "And what, if anything, what kind of supports, what kind of improvement can this provide for our students, for our staff, for our families?"
A final decision will likely be made by the end of the summer or early fall.
If the district approves Hamilton's year-round schedule it would begin in the summer of 2013.
And if parents or staff did not want to participate, there will likely be the option to go to a different school in the district.
