As summer nears, schools across the country have ended for the year or will soon let out for a lengthy break. Most adults work through the summer, but thanks to outdated medical beliefs, a convergence of rural and city calendars, and educational reforms, kids today enjoy summer vacations. Schools didn't always have such a long summer break, Ken Gold, dean of education at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, said.
Part of the profession's lure, for some, is the way the schedule is structured each year, Steele said. 'So I could imagine that moving toward a year-round model could exacerbate some recruitment and retention problems,' she said.Outside schools, there's also an economic barrier to ending or shortening the summer break.