Should Schools go to a Trimester Format?

I was reading about how summer school students in recent years are failing to show up for school. It got me to thinking about maybe it is time for school districts to begin thinking about trimesters. School would be held from January through March, May through July, and September through November. Each three month period of time would be followed by a month away from school in April, August, and December.

Now I know there will be pros and cons to this idea and it is not a new thought, either. One of the pros would be that the schools would be used almost all year round instead of the usual 9 months. The cons would be families' “summer vacations” would be interrupted. That thought would be old school thinking in a new school world. April, August and December would be the new “vacation” months.

I know this idea probably will not fly with most people, but it would keep kids in a “school mode” all year round and that’s something that can’t be all that bad unless you are a kid.  We are falling behind in America scholastically and maybe the trimester idea is an idea worth looking at.

What do you think?