90/30 School Plan Is Called Close to Regular Calendar

Many parents fear that the so-called “90/30” year-round calendar proposed Tuesday for all Los Angeles district schools would mean a sharp and painful departure from the traditional September-to-June system they have grown accustomed to.

But those familiar with the 90/30 system say it is not so different from the traditional school calendar, and has some advantages of its own.

The 90/30 calendar derives its name from the way it divides up the school year: Students go to school for 90 days, have vacation for 30 days, return for another 90 days of class, and then take another 30-day break. The 90/30 calendar has the same number of school days as a traditional calendar--180. But vacation breaks could fall in summer and winter, or fall and spring, instead of primarily during the summer.

“It is very similar to a traditional calendar, except that students have two (long) vacations instead of one,” said David R. Sowers, principal of Le Conte Junior High School in Hollywood.

Le Conte has been operating on the 90/30 calendar for eight years. Many Los Angeles schools, such as Le Conte, are overcrowded and year-round schedules enable them to handle more students with the same number of classrooms by using buildings during the summer months.

After 12 hours of debate, a majority of a special 17-member Los Angeles Unified School District task force on Tuesday decided to recommend to Supt. Leonard Britton that the 90/30 system replace all other calendars used in the district--including the traditional September-to-June schedule followed by 450,000 of the school system’s 587,000 students.

The school board, which is sharply divided on the question of whether year-round school is good for everyone, might be swayed by the task force proposal when it takes up the matter later this year. Or it might disregard the findings entirely and either choose another common calendar or make no changes at all in the current system. The district uses six different calendars now, five of which are year-round schedules. Ninety-five schools, out of a total of more than 600, are on year-round calendars.

The board has agreed in principle to adopt a year-round calendar districtwide, partly to relieve crowding and to impose a uniform schedule for all schools. But it has been unable to agree on how this should be done. The board voted in favor of one plan last fall, only to shelve it. Earlier this year, Britton withdrew the proposal and the task force was formed to try to answer once and for all the question of whether all Los Angeles schools could be placed on a common year-round schedule.

Now the district at least has “something concrete to talk about,” said board member Warren Furutani, considered the pivotal vote in the year-round school debate in Los Angeles.

The 90/30 calendar would operate differently depending on how crowded a school is. In a crowded school, for example, students probably would be divided into four groups, or “tracks,” with one group on vacation while the other three are in class. This allows the school to accommodate about one-third more students than it could under a traditional calendar.

Under this “multi-track” approach, group A might start school in September and go on a six-day winter break with the rest of the school in December. Then it would return in January for three more weeks of class to finish the semester. It would take a three-week break before beginning the second semester.

The B, C and D groups might start school in July, then stagger the ending dates of the semester. Thus B group might have a five-week break during the semester, while the D group goes to class for 19 straight weeks or about 90 days.

Since most of the district’s year-round schools are crowded, they operate on multi-track calendars.

If a school is not crowded, it would use a “single-track” version of the calendar. In other words, all students would go on vacation and be in class at the same time.

The single-track calendar could resemble a traditional calendar, district officials say. In one version of a single-track 90/30 calendar, for instance, students would begin school in September and continue through December. All students would have a six-day winter break, returning in January for about three more weeks of class to finish the first 90-day semester. Then they would have a three-week break, returning in March to begin the second term. The school year would end in late June, and students would have July and August off.

Three junior highs and six elementary schools in the district have operated on the 90/30 system for several years.

Not Tried in High School

The calendar has not been tried in a high school, however. According to a February, 1987, district staff report, the 90/30 system presents a “significant disadvantage” for high schools because it could restrict the availability of classes.

The staff recommended that the district not adopt the 90/30 calendar for all grades until it could be tested in a few high schools.

At least one board member, Julie Korenstein, disagreed with the task force’s choice. Korenstein, who represents the West San Fernando Valley, said she does not believe one calendar can be found that can fit the needs of all children in the district. “What is good for elementary schools is not necessarily good for high schools,” she said.

Consider Recommendation

Other board members were more willing to consider the task force recommendation.

“I had always looked for a common calendar that would most resemble traditional calendar and that would accommodate all of the grades,” said Leticia Quezada. “My instinct had been that 90/30 would be the best one. So I think they did an excellent job.”