Is year-round or traditional schooling more beneficial for students? Is one way or another easier for parents?

According to Niche, 10 percent of all public schools in the nation do year-round schooling, meaning there are three trimesters with a two to three week break in-between each trimester.

Washington has never done three trimesters before, but Francis Howell did year-round schooling briefly before 2011. Catherine Viglione is a mother of three children that went to Francis Howell. Sophomore Morgan Gordy also attended Francis Howell at this time.

“You would have three weeks break in-between semesters, so it felt like more of a break from school instead of just a big chunk off in the middle of the year,” Gordy said.

Although there were some positives, Viglione brought to light the parent aspect of year-round schooling. Her oldest child was in middle school while her two younger children were in the elementary school. The middle school was on a traditional school year schedule.

“Once you had one child in middle or high school, it wasn’t possible [to take vacations],” Viglione said. “You basically had one month in June to fit in a family vacation because the elementary kids went back in July.”

A con to traditional schooling is the fact that students forget what they learned over the summer.

“There are times when you haven’t done math for three months and then you’re like, ‘Woah, I don’t remember anything,’” Gordy said.

From a student perspective, trimesters seem to be a favorite.

“You get to hang out with your friends and get a break from school,” Gordy said. “You get a break from just being stressed about everything.”

However, educators may need to think about more than just the social pros.

“I do think students need some sort of break,” Viglione said, “but it doesn’t need to be two to three months.”