Mukilteo school may go all year

By Eric Stevick

Herald Writer

A new Mukilteo School District elementary campus, set to open in the fall of 2003, could operate under a year-round calendar.

The Mukilteo School Board on Monday set the stage for a year-long study into the pros and cons of year-round education, which breaks up summer vacation into shorter, more frequent breaks throughout the school year.

Some education leaders say the strategy has merit because students have less time to forget what they have learned over a long summer, and schools can often offer different classes during the breaks catered to students who are doing well and those who are struggling.

However, year-round school can be a tough sell among tradition-bound parents, particularly if older siblings are on the conventional calendar.

Only two other schools in Snohomish County — Evergreen and Cedar Way elementaries in Mountlake Terrace — have year-round schedules.

"I am strongly in favor of it," said Gary Toothaker, the school district superintendent. "We are going to have to have community support to pull it off. Just because I like it or a board member may like it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen."

The district will appoint a committee of parents, teachers, administrators, support workers and community members with "a balance of proponent, opponent and neutral views," according to a Toothaker memo to the school board. The process would include a community survey.

The new school will be built north of Lake Stickney along Gibson Road in the southeast portion of the school district. If the year-round schedule is adopted, it could be offered in a community school setting or as part of an "option" program for students district-wide.

Toothaker said it makes sense to study the possibility of a year-round calendar long before the school opens and people become locked into the traditional schedule.

If a year-round calendar were adopted at the Mukilteo school, all students would be on the same schedule.

Some districts across the country have had to use a "multi-track" year-round calendar because of overcrowding. At those schools, enrollment is divided into groups that attend class and take vacation at different times to free up space in the classroom.

While only a small fraction of the enrollment nationally, year-round schools have gained a foothold in recent years. Between 1990 and 2000, year-round enrollment more than doubled. Last year, more than 2.1 million students from 651 schools in 44 states attended a year-round school, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education.

Judy Schwab, a Mukilteo School Board member, once opposed year-round school. She has become more receptive as she has learned more about it.

"I really worked hard to be open-minded about it," she said.

"I know it’s controversial and that people have strong feelings about it," she said. "I guess my wish in going forward and looking at it is everyone keep an open mind."

You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446

or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.

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