Remember those great summers of your childhood? Summer vacations, summer camp, lake trips, sleepovers, tubing the river or just hanging with friends were all important memories made during summer.
School boards across Texas are currently meeting to decide on the 2020-2021 school calendar. One proposal is a year-round school calendar.
Advocating for a uniform school start and end date for Texas students that maximizes the learning & skills built through summer camp.
Why are traditional school calendars preferred in Texas? The State of Texas derives its revenue, including education dollars, from sales tax income generated in part from a robust travel and tourism industry. The summer months in Texas are a precious commodity. Texas’ many rivers, lakes and beaches provide recreation and employment during the summer months that cannot be replicated during other times of the year. Amusement and water parks have invested in Texas, hiring and training Texas youth for summer jobs. These businesses open June 1 to accommodate travelers from other states, and their workforce must be available to meet those opening dates. For many youth, these full-time jobs pay for college and supplement family income.
Texas youth camps that encompass Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, Y-camps, faith-based and independent camps guide the physical, emotional, social and spiritual development of Texas youth. For many children this is their one opportunity to thrive in an environment outside of home and school. Youth camps also provide meaningful employment to college-age students and school district employees. These are just some of the many reasons why Texans desire a traditional school year that protects the summer months for their families.
swim teams, and other water activities that occur only in the summer
Houston ISD’s Apollo program (2010-2011) added 10 days to the school year to address learning loss. Rice University’s critique of the program asserted that only the small group/tutorial instruction moved the needle for children who were below grade level. Additional days were not cited as contributing to heightened achievement.
According to Dr. Ray Perryman (2017): When multiplier effects are considered, the total economic losses of shifting the school start date one week earlier in August includes over $1.0 billion in aggregate spending and $543.2 million in output (gross product) each year, as well as 7,506 jobs.
Find one of your favorite summer memories
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Let all your friends and neighbors know, that Texans need summer
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