Some Indy school districts use fall break for catching up students. Does it work?

The second day of fall break last week found Jeremiah Gray Elementary School buzzing with activity. In one classroom a group of third graders read about pumpkins and apples. In another, a teacher asked students questions about the non-fiction book they had just read.

This week all Perry Township Schools students have their days free to do what they wish but last week about 200 third graders from around the district spent four hours of day in school to brush up on their reading skills.

About a decade ago, many central Indiana school districts switched to what’s known as a “balanced” school calendar with the idea that shorter summer breaks and longer mid-year breaks would help students’ overall achievement.

Some districts using the balanced calendar opted to take two weeks for fall and spring break, saying that provided them with a window to provide remediation for struggling students, or as some districts call it “intercession.”

For Perry Township this year that meant inviting around 200 third graders back into the classroom during fall break.

Perry chose to focus on early literacy work this year because that is where the greatest need was, said assistant superintendent for Perry Township Vickie Carpenter.

The third grade is a pivotal point in a student’s education journey since students are learning to read up to the fourth grade and then are reading to learn after that, Carpenter said.

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Not every district that tried a two-week break has opted to stick with that calendar or use it for remediation.

The Indianapolis Public Schools district stopped doing two-week fall breaks and added a week back onto summer for the 2019-20 school year in order to better balance the number of instructional days between the two semesters, according to WFYI.

Other districts kept the two-week fall break but as participation from students during those intercession times dropped over the years, decided to use those as pure time off.

Wayne Township schools have two weeks off for both fall and spring break. The extended breaks after each grading period help with student and teacher mental health, said Superintendent Jeff Butts.

“It really gave them an opportunity to do a reset for the next nine-week period of time when they're going to be back in the classroom,” Butts said.

Each year the district staff votes on calendar options and the balanced calendar always wins the majority of votes, Butts said. He added that families appreciate breaking up childcare costs over the year, instead of spending it all during the summer months.

Even though Wayne Township has around 182 instructional days, two more than what is legally required by state law, Butts said it's helpful to have a more spread-out school year to give students access to school services for more of the year.

“When they’re not in school students miss the opportunity to maybe see the nurse or to have breakfast, lunch and dinner or to be around friends and sometimes to be in a safe controlled environment,” Butts said.

Other districts such as Washington Township opted from the outset to take off the entire week of Thanksgiving and only do one week for fall break.

Perry Township uses fall break to help with reading

In Perry Township, the first week of fall break is not a break for everyone. About 10 teachers focus on helping students perfect their reading skills.

Perry uses the first week of fall break for intercession and then allows the students and staff to spend the second week however they want. This year two Perry Elementary schools are open for four hours of instruction each day, and the district provides transportation and free breakfast and lunch.

Not all of the approximately 1,200 third graders in Perry Township were invited to attend fall intercession; the fall break classes consist mostly of students who need extra help in reading and English language work. The majority of these students are English language learners, Carpenter said, of which Perry has the highest rate among Marion County's 11 school districts.

Perry's intercessions do not always focus on third graders or literacy work. Schools officials adjust the program to address whatever is the highest need at the moment.

Perry, along with many other Indiana districts, has been revamping the reading curriculum over the past few years as reading scores have been declining in the state.

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Throughout the day, students cycle through various classes. Not all the faculty teach third grade but they have all been trained in teaching literacy, honing in on a specific aspect of reading.

In one class students focus on non-fiction. In another students practice letter sounds and spelling, while in a third classroom students read a fiction book and then talk about different literary elements of the book.

Ben Danner, a fifth-grade teacher at Homecroft Elementary who volunteered to teach during fall break, said the additional pay and time off are great, but he also sees the value of helping students catch up on learning.

“When I was in school, you would never think of coming into school over break,” Danner said. “But I think now families and our community understands that learning can never stop.”

Perry allows some students who may not be classified as high-need but would still like to work on their reading skills during fall break to attend.

Jennifer Carter, a third grader at Winchester Village Elementary school, who loves to talk about her favorite book, “Arnie the Doughnut," said she’s enjoyed spending this extra time with her classmates and has loved learning more about pumpkins and apples from the books they’ve been reading.

"I wanted to come here for fall break because I thought it would be fun, and it has been really fun," Carter said.

The teachers who are helping with fall break intercession organize a teaching plan in advance. This year they decided to base some of their lessons around fall themes.

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Danner is working on nonfiction with students and uses a book about apples to work on building up student’s knowledge around the topic, asking and answering questions from the students.

“A lot of what we’re doing in there is trying to get these kids to talk and have conversations and dialogue to help improve their language acquisition skills,” Danner said.

Since students only spend around 16 hours learning during the intercession time, Carpenter said it's hard to gauge how effective the extra learning time is.

“We don't want to spend this time assessing them when we could be instructing them,” Carpenter said.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why do some Indy school districts have longer breaks than others?