Monday was the first day of class for more than 80,000 Chicago Public Schools students attending year-round schools.
Monday was the first day of class for more than 80,000 Chicago Public Schools students attending year-round schools.
There are 131 elementary and one public high school–Peace and Education Coalition high school–that are year-round. Peace and Education is an alternative high school with two campuses on the South Side.
The build-up of year-round schools began August 2008. Shortly after that, the number of year-round schools has more than doubled, increasing from 18 to 41. Then in March, the CPS school board approved 24 new, year-round schools, which increased the total from 41 to 65.
A month later, 67 more year-round schools were approved, which now brings the total to 132, said Frank Shuftan, a CPS spokesman.
Ron Huberman, chief executive officer for CPS, said being in school year-round increases a student’s ability to learn more.
“Because it maximizes a student’s opportunity to learn, we have agreed with many of our principals, parents and community leaders to spread their school attendance more evenly throughout the year,” he said. “This means that instead of one long summer break, students get several shorter breaks throughout the year.”
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