By Teo Lampson

On December 31, 2023, another barrier was broken when Philadelphia’s first female mayor, Cherelle Parker, was elected. Mrs. Parker plans on making her mark on the city through new education policies, which she feels are lacking in modernity and opportunity. A key part of her plan involves making school year-round. Although the specifics of the aforementioned policy are unclear, and whether or not the total amount of school days will increase, remains to be seen. However, the policy will surely decrease the duration of summer break. In an interview with NBC 10’s Lauren Mayk, Mrs. Parker argues that the concept of a long summer break is based upon outdated reasoning. Mrs. Parker states “Our children are no longer working the farms in the summertime.”

A couple of possible upsides come to mind when considering the possibility of year-round schooling. For one, a shorter summer break would likely lead to students retaining more information, allowing teachers to spend less time on review and more time on teaching new material. Secondly, students feeling less overwhelmed could be a possible result of Mrs. Parker deciding to put the lost days of summer break into winter, spring, and fall breaks. On the subject of year-round schooling, Jarif Farhan (285) stated “Psychologically I think it’s more therapeutic. [It w]ill reduce burnout.”

However, the concept of year-round schooling has quite a few flaws. Firstly, a shorter summer break could reduce students’ opportunities for longer summer programs and internships. A more rounded approach to the school year scheduling is not commonly found across the country, so many summer programs aren’t catered to a short summer break. Moreover, many schools will not even be able to accommodate students and teachers during the summer due to a lack of air conditioning, and other logistical issues.

Year-round schooling isn’t the only thing Mayor Parker has planned for the School District of Philadelphia. Parker also plans to extend the time required to be in school from roughly seven hours, to ten and a half hours. Parker believes public schools’ lack of extracurriculars and career development are major contributors to why Philadelphia’s public school system is failing. With these added hours, before and after-school activities would be built into students’ days, forcing them to expand their horizons and potentially discover interests. Parker stated that her vision is for high schools to partner with “businesses, city departments, and the Building Trades to provide training for jobs that are available and needed, as well as partnering with colleges and universities to provide best-in-class preparatory training for students who are college-bound.” 

While Parker’s plan for added mandatory hours in the school day will likely provide more opportunities for students, complications stand in the way of it becoming a reality, and many question if it’s worthwhile. Added hours to the school day will come at a cost due to teacher salary, building maintenance, and other things. Mandating that students be at school for these added hours will diminish the opportunity for students to pursue activities outside of their school. Time for students to complete their homework and study will certainly decrease as well, and students having to be in school earlier will likely decrease sleep. 

Mayor Parker has not officially discussed both year-round schooling and the lengthening of the school day with the teachers union, and there are virtually no details regarding either of these ambitious plans. Parker’s visions have their pros and cons, but certainly show citizens that improving the quality of education in Philadelphia is a priority for her. If there’s anything to take away from this article, it’s that Cherelle Parker is serious about bringing change to this city.