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Knowledge Quest on the Web
November/December 2003

Full text reprint of the "Research into Practice" column

Research into Practice
The Impact of Year-Round Schools on the Library Media Program

The goal of "Research into Practice" is to interpret and understand the work done on the Learning through the Library Task Force. This group was charged with identifying and disseminating successful practices in school library media centers that support school reform efforts to improve student learning and achievement. Task Force members included Violet Harada, chair, Debbie Abilock, Carolyn Cain, Sharon Coatney, Bill Derry, Mike Eisenberg, Carol Fox, Mark Gordon, A. James Jones, Carol Kroll, Carol Kuhlthau, Vivian Melton, Carol Nelson, Donna Peterson, Denise Rehmke, and Sheila Salmon. Their efforts resulted in the AASL Learning through the Library Web site (www.ala.org/aasl/learning/index) .

The Research: Year Round Education
by Nancy Everhart

Over the past fifteen years there has been a 544 percent increase in the number of public schools that have implemented year-round education in the United States.1 For the 2002- 2003 school year, 46 states, 3,181 schools, and more than 2.3 million students are participating in year-round schools.2  Year-round education breaks up the traditional three-month summer vacation and provides smaller intersession vacations throughout the year. Students usually attend school the same number of days as their counterparts in schools with traditional schedules. Teachers and school library media specialists (SLMSs) may work more days, depending on the type of year-round schedule employed.

There are variations of year-round schedules based on how school and vacation days are divided and whether the school is on a single- or multi-track. With single-track scheduling, the whole school operates on one calendar with simultaneous breaks. For example, classes are in session for forty-five days and then are off for a fifteen-day break (or sixty-twenty; ninety-thirty). Multi-track schools operate with several calendars to accommodate groups, or tracks, of teachers and students who alternate breaks to maximize use of school facilities every day of the year.

The capacity of year-round schools to accommodate larger numbers of students without the need to construct new school buildings is attractive to administrators and taxpayers and is the main reason for their popularity. But another advantage that proponents of year-round education point out is that it makes the most of learning time for students - especially at-risk students, gifted and talented students, and students with disabilities.3  The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University has conducted several research studies on modified school calendars, noting the significance of "summer learning loss" and the merits of year-round schools on student achievement.4

A synthesis of the research on teaching in year-round schools documents perceived benefits and challenges for teachers (see figure).5

Although SLMSs are also considered teachers, little research has been conducted on the unique implications year-round education has for them
and the school library media program. Only one study was located in the literature - that being an action research report on the impact of year-round education on a school district's school libraries in California.6

As the number of year-round schools continues to rapidly rise, increasing numbers of SLMSs will find themselves employed in this educational setting. Hawaii is one state with a large percentage of year-round schools. As part of a project for this author's course in Controversial Issues in School Librarianship, University of Hawaii MLS student and SLMS in a year-round school Kristi Atalig conducted an investigation into the impact of year-round scheduling on Hawaii's school library media centers.

The Practice: Year-Round Scheduling in Hawaii' s School Library Media Centers
by Kristi Atalig

In 2002, Hawaii had 159 schools operating on a single-track, year-round calendar, 4 multi-track schools, and 117 operating on a traditional school calendar.7 In my multi-track elementary school, I discovered many advantages to operating a year-round library media center, as well as seen the downside.

First, because there is no long traditional summer break, there is less instructional time spent on student review of expectations and content from the year before. I believe this generates greater retention of learning and a substantial decrease in discipline. Further, the intersession periods allow our school to offer enrichment instruction. We focus on areas of interest and need, such as English as a second language, news writing, and technology.

Faculty members and students seem to have higher morale, less burnout, and improved attendance because of the frequent renewal breaks throughout the year. On the other hand, staff is unable to take summer graduate and professional development courses, and students are left out of summer camps and other programs offered outside of the school's modified calendar.

In the school library media program, multi-track students benefit from rotating schedules that facilitate accessibility to resources because students do not compete for similar grade level unit resources at the same time. But the schedules often complicate and disrupt thematic unit planning, placing breaks in the middle of a research project. Battling philosophies on whether or not students should get homework during the intersessions influence how to handle these dilemmas on an individual teacher basis.

The continuous use of the library takes its toll on the materials and the facility. Because our students are allowed to keep books during the intersessions, the increased use and circulation of books results in more wear and tear. Also, the SLMS must proactively plan for carpet cleaning during the short, two-week Christmas break, or else face closing the library to give sufficient time for facility maintenance.

Many issues arise as schools transition to the year-round system. Administrators and clerical staff now work on a strenuous twelve-month schedule. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly common to hire SLMSs as year-round rainbow employees to cover the additional responsibilities of the media centers. Fundraising events and special literacy programs must be held twice or rotated to accommodate off-track students. Inventory, updating of database information, and acting on fine collection procedures are either compressed during an extended time of library closure of all revolving tracks or handled in an ongoing basis while the library remains accessible to students.

SLMSs must thoughtfully review collection needs to coincide with budget release dates. There is a time crunch to get ordering done during the third quarter so that processing can be done during the fourth quarter and books will be ready for the shelves in the next school year, which begins two days to a week after the school year ends. With no summer break, or a limited number of professional development days, SLMSs must squeeze in collaboration and training time with teachers via intersession e-mail or working lunches, unless administration provides release time for collaborative work.

For those who are currently in a year-round school, or who will be making a transition to one, here are helpful tips offered by Hawaii's year-round SLMSs:

• Develop an intersession borrowing policy on whether students should return, keep, or obtain special permission to have library materials over the breaks.
• Consider the needs of the population and the condition of resources remaining in the home for long periods of time. Allow yourself enough time to adequately prepare for the opening of the library. The short summers, typically six weeks or less, will cut down on the amount of time you have to get ready for the new school year. Weeding, inventory, and making flyers for the new year can be dispersed throughout the final weeks of the last session.
• Communicate in advance with grade-level teachers to allow yourself time to develop curriculum units. You' ll need to compact your time for updating your student class lists and adding or deleting patron records to your computerized database. Plan your annual ordering with consideration to budget release dates and the year-round calendar. For example, the budget may be released on July 1 and the new school year begins on July 15. If you wait until the budget release, materials will arrive after school begins and you'll need to process them while conducting classes. An expensive solution is to order materials through express rush delivery. Another option is to leave money from the prior year to fund necessities for the following year. Some jobbers may allow you to purchase material before budget release dates.
• Negotiate salary or personnel increases with your principal if your school holds classes during intersessions and will need library services during those times. Don' t expect any major changes in the way you conduct information skills classes. Students will get a little restless before each break begins, but will also be refreshed as they come back from their breaks.
• Enjoy the opportunity to relax, renew, and refresh yourself throughout your intersessions.

Year-round learning can make a positive difference on student achievement, faculty morale, and school use, but it seems to require more work in a compressed amount of time. When my elementary school changed from a year-round schedule to multi-track school, I felt growing pains in the first two years as I made the necessary adjustments.  With good information and preparation, the shift can create an enriching program for a year-round library media center.

References

1. National Association for Year-Round Education, YRE Statistics: Growth of Public Year-Round Education in the United States over a 15-Year
Period, May 2003, . Accessed 6 May 2003.

2. Ibid.

3. Elisabeth A. Palmer and Amy E. Bemis, Year-Round Education, 1999. Accessed 6 May 2003.

4. Johns Hopkins University, Center for Summer Learning, Research: Modified School Calendars, 2002, . Accessed 6 May 2003.

5. Caroyln Kneese, "Teaching in Year-Round Schools", 2000. ERIC, ED 449123.

6. Christine M. Allen, "Impact of Year-Round Education on Riverside Unified School District Elementary Libraries", 1990. ERIC, ED 335 056.

7. State of Hawaii. Department of Education, Year-Round Schools: 159 Single-Track, 4 Multi-Track, 10 June 2002. Accessed 6 May 2003.

Figure

Perceived Benefits and Challenges for Teachers Teaching in Year-Round Schools

This column is edited by Nancy Everhart, an Associate Professor in charge of the school library media program at St. John' s University, Jamaica, N.Y., and the author of the newly published Controversial Issues in School Librarianship (Washington, Ohio: Linworth, 2003)

Kristi Atalig is a former multitrack librarian at an elementary school in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. In 2001-2002 she served as the school media services chair of the Nene Award Committee of the Hawaii Library Association. Currently, she is earning her Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and teaches fourth graders at Holomua Elementary School, Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

© 2003 Nancy Everhart