Continuing with my first entry about 3 month summer vacations – this schedule places unnecessary stress on teachers because they must spend time at the beginning of every school year helping their students acclimate back into an academic environment.  Students, of course, pick up on this stress and so the school year begins with everyone under unnecessary stress.  To me, a 9 month school schedule signifies the mentality that learning happens for only 9 out of 12 months and students and teachers need a “vacation” from learning.  A year-round schedule might allow teachers to have more flexibility in scheduling their professional development.  They could have professional development divided up over a year rather than cramming it all into the summer months. Having taken a few training courses and presented a few myself I know how quickly knowledge and skills may be lost if not put into practice in less than 3 months.