Views on Modifying the Traditional School Calendar for a Post-COVID World: Could a Balanced Calendar Model Mitigate COVID-19 Slide?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a period for reexamination of how the world schools its children. Policy makers are considering how to address myriad challenges during this tenuous post-COVID era in primary and secondary education. This paper discusses potential school calendar change in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Modifying the traditional school calendar to a balanced approach has been attempted and scrutinized for decades providing varying results on academic achievement. The question is whether a year-round or extended school calendar could counteract COVID-19 learning loss, in addition to addressing achievement gaps, reducing viral transmission, and supporting vulnerable student populations.