Should School Be Year-Round?

It’s that time of year again—the weather’s getting warmer, flowers are blooming, and summer break is just around the corner. Most U.S. students get about 10 weeks off during the summer. But not every teen will be sleeping in, going to the pool, or playing video games. Some students go to school year-round, even during summer.

Year-round schools have roughly the same amount of class time as traditional schools. The breaks are set up differently though. Year-round students get about half as much time off during the summer—some start the school year in mid-July! But they also typically get two to three weeks off after every school quarter. 

Also called a balanced school calendar, the year-round schedule isn’t new. In recent years, however, a number of schools have embraced it. Supporters say having more-frequent breaks from school is better for students’ mental health because it gives them regular time off from the demands of class. 

But other people argue that teens need long summer breaks to fully recharge between school years, with enough time to go to camp, travel, and just be a kid. 

Should school be year-round? Consider the arguments and then choose a side.

Maya Kadol doesn’t mind having a shorter summer break than other students. That’s because the eighth-grader gets regular weeks-long vacations from her year-round school in North Carolina. “It definitely helps to not have to go a very long time straight with no break,” she explains. For example, she gets two weeks off just 30 days into the school year. Students at traditional schools usually have to wait until Thanksgiving—or longer—for a full week break. 

Many school officials say year-round schools also get students off to a faster start. Students don’t need to spend as much time reviewing old material when they return from summer break, points out Greta Turney. She is the superintendent of Kneeland School in Kneeland, California. That school switched to a year-round schedule last fall.

Year-round schools also let families spread activities throughout the year, supporters argue, instead of cramming everything into the summer. Maya, for one, went to Japan with her family in March 2025. “It was very good weather at the time and a lot less tourists than there would have been in the summer,” she says. 

Nothing can top having a couple of months off during the summer, many students argue. The extended break gives teens the chance to travel, start a new hobby, hang out with friends, and chill. Nicholas Velotta, an eighth-grader from Ohio, likes having a longer summer vacation so he can do water sports at a nearby lake—something he can’t always do on fall or winter breaks. “It’s really refreshing to go see nature and just get away from all the loudness of the world,” he explains. 

In addition, many school officials point out that shortening summer break doesn’t guarantee students won’t forget some of what they’ve learned in the previous year. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Ohio recently compared math and English Language Arts scores from its year-round and traditional schools. In the year-round schools, “we still saw kids having these [learning] gaps,” says Nicholas D’Amico, a Cleveland school official. 

Scheduling child care and vacations can also be a problem, some people argue, especially for families with kids in different schools. One child may be in class while another is on summer break. “That creates some attendance issues,” D’Amico explains.