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Year-Round Schools Begin Today in Atlanta

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It’s the first day of school for students in several metro Atlanta year-round schools.

The idea of just having a six-or seven-week summer break grew in popularity a few years ago, but while some schools have abandoned the idea a few find it works for them.

In the Atlanta Public Schools, there are three year-round schools: Boyd Elementary, Centennial Place Elementary and Hutchinson Elementary.

Clayton County has one year-round school, Elite Scholars Academy, a charter school.

Last week, that school’s leadership team met to start preparing for 300 middle and high school students. The school has a good academic record

During the 2012-2013 school year, on the state’s new accountability system, the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), Elite Scholars middle school was one of only two schools in the state to score 100 percent. The high school scored 80 percent.

The administration partly credits the year-round program with helping students do so well.

“We’re continuing with the year-round school because we think it helps with retention,” said Shonda Shaw, principal of Elite Scholar Academy. “They still get a break and they still basically get the same amount of breaks throughout the school year, but it’s not all one time in the summer, but it’s spread out throughout the year. Teachers find that they don’t have to do as much re-teaching that they have to do where they’ve lost everything during those 10 -12 weeks”…

Read More: 11alive.com

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