Summer Break Almost Over for Year-Round Schoolers
By Ashley Meeks, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.
Jul. 20–LAS CRUCES — Back to school already? In July? Is this some sort of cruel trick?
Not to 10-year-olds Anaylssa and Arianna Martinez. Not only are the twins eager to start fifth grade at Booker T. Washington Elementary School, they’re planning on starting a letter-writing campaign for a year-round middle school, said their mom and the school’s PTO Treasurer Maria Martinez.
After getting out of school June 6, about 825 students at Booker T. Washington and MacArthur Elementary School are headed back to the classroom this week — first through fifth grades today, kindergartners on Thursday and July 30 for preschoolers.
Most other Las Cruces Public Schools classes for first through 12th grades begin Aug. 11.
Martinez, whose three older children attended school on a traditional calendar, wasn’t always sold on year-round school. “I was concerned. I thought, I think it’s going to be too much for the kids and they’re going to get bored and they’re going to rebel,” she said. But she found that after nine weeks on and three weeks off, “they go back fresh. They want to go back.”
Her only gripe with the year-round schedule is that it sometimes gets disregarded when the city, New Mexico State University and Las Cruces
Public Schools are planning summer activities, camps and other programs, which sometimes run during MacArthur and Booker’s first or last week of class.
Teresa Romano, principal at Booker T. Washington, says teachers and staff are eager to get back to their students as well.
Romano said the year-round schedule was implemented to bring up flagging student performance — spread out breaks are less likely to leave fractions, personal pronouns and the Gadsden Purchase in the dust when school starts up again. She believes it works. “It keeps the kids studying for longer periods of time and retaining the information,” Romano said, in addition to the difficulty for working parents to make long summers meaningful for young children.
With a new multipurpose room (good for gym on still-monsoony days), a new library, the annual parade to kick off the year and some beefed up before- and after-school programs, Romano said it’s an exciting time for the school.
“Believe it or not, by the time we get back, it’s like a relief. It’s nice to be back,” she said. “We see them in the stores and they’re excited, “When do we get back?’”
Ashley Meeks can be reached at ameeks@lcsun-news.com
Back to school
Hatch starts back Aug. 13
GISD traditional schools start Aug. 4
GISD year-round starts July 28 for grades 1-6; Aug. 4 for kindergarten
Las Cruces Catholic Schools start Aug. 11
Mesilla Valley Christian School starts Aug. 13
LCPS traditional schools start Aug. 11
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