Is summer break long enough, or should it be longer? According to studies done by Dr. Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, students that have longer summer breaks lose approximately one to three months of learning.

Summer break gives students the opportunity to take a break from school; and prepare for the transition of grades.  Arizona adds 20 days to four weeks of schooling to the traditional 180 days. There are some students that feel that summer break isn’t long enough, but others feel it’s just right the way it is.

Horizon Honors was one of the first schools in Arizona to test the new form of year-round school. Since the 90’s several other schools have adopted a very similar calendar. Horizon Honors prefers the year-round style of schooling, because it gives teachers a better opportunity to plan for the year. Horizon Honors goals with year-round school is to have students retain more information.

Giving students more than a month and a half for summer break is just helping them slowly erase all of their memory of school and all the hard work they have done. What are students supposed to do during summer break? Yes, the first few weeks are very exciting; they hang out with friends and go on trips, but after so long what do they do? They sit around watching TV and lying in bed all day. School gets kids and teens out of the house and gives them a chance to socialize and learn at the same time.

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and students as well as teachers are very anxious and excited to get out of school, but with longer breaks students lose months of information; were as students who  don’t have long summer breaks remember more information. Horizon Honors did well with deciding that summer should be seven weeks, rather than 75 days.