Who set(s)the public school calendars?

Miriam(W)Frank(M)
W: Hello, Frank.
M: Hello, Miriam. How nice to see you again. How’s everything going?
W: Fine. Busy these days?
M: Yeah. With lots of things to do. Would you like to join me for a drink?
W: OK, thanks.
M: Any news recently?
W: Oh, well, yesterday I read the newspaper and got very shocking news. You know,(1)it’s not the federal government that sets the calendar for our public schools. Public school calendars are set by individual states and districts. According to the news, instead of a long summer break, our local school decided to keep students in class year-round with shorter breaks throughout, offering about 20 additional school days.
M: The students must feel very sad when hearing this news.
W: Yeah, I think so. And this idea is gaining increasing popularity. It’s a strategy school districts across the country are experimenting with. Perhaps the most closely watched is in Massachusetts, which has extended class time for 26 of its low-performing schools. The idea has even won the endorsement of both President Obama and his education chief.
M: Mm...,(2)I heard that the education chief said in an interview that our current school calendar was based upon the agrarian economy and the vast majority of the students in our country weren’t working the fields in the summers. So he—he thought it was really an outdated, outmoded model. It needed to be changed.
W: I don’t agree with him. Extending school year seems so completely short-sighted to me.(3-1)More time is no silver bullet for reform. Take Miami-Dade County Schools in Florida for example, it used an extended day program for three years, but dropped it because they didn’t see improvement in test scores.(3-2)Besides, it—it disrupts family life.
M: Well, surely you must have to admit that we have a significantly shorter school year. I’m worried— er—our students are at a competitive disadvantage with their peers in India and China. Students in those other countries are going to school 210, 220, 230 days a year. Our students are going to school 180 days a year, generally. And I think our students are absolutely smart, absolutely committed, can do extraordinary things. But we have to level the playing field. And if in a sports contest, one team is practicing three days a week and one team is practicing five days a week, the team that is practicing more is going to do better.
W: But simply extending school time in and of itself will not produce the desired results. Larry Cuban, a Stanford University professor of education, has argued that what matters most is not the quantity but the quality of time students and teachers spend together in the classroom.
M: Well, yes. Mm..., but, extending school time does bring some advantages.(4-1)It gives the students learning experiences that they might not be able to get over the summertime.
W: But you ask the teachers and students whether, whether they reckon that extending school time brings them advantages. I think goes without saying that no one wants to extend bad time. The teachers are fatigued at the end of the day, and the students are fatigued and unmotivated. The students need summer break to have a good rest.
M: Yes, you are right.(4-2)But without those camps and other stimulating activities, something called summer learning loss occurs. Researchers estimate that low-income students can lose two months of math and reading achievement owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break. It’s particularly true for low-income kids who don’t have the opportunities that other kids have during those big breaks.
W: But have you considered this? Extending the school day is very very expensive. The Miami-Dade program cost more than $100 million.
M: Yes, you are right.(3 - 3)Really it can result in increased cost because more teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, and other staff are deployed. But I think it can bring some—some benefits to students and teachers as well, for example, umm, it allows teachers to delve into subject matter in more depth:(4 - 3)it builds in time for more teacher-to-student interaction: and, it makes it possible for students to spend more time on task.