VENTURA : Year-Round School Survey Replies Lag

Fewer than half the parents surveyed about the possibility of converting seven Ventura schools to a year-round calendar have returned the inquiries, officials said.

Of the 2,300 parents who received the written surveys sent out in December, only 944--or 41%--returned them, said Supt. Joseph Spirito.

The affected schools are Cabrillo Middle School and Blanche Reynolds, Lincoln, Loma Vista, Pierpont, Poinsettia and Will Rogers elementary schools.

With such a low response, Spirito said he did not feel comfortable making a recommendation to the board on the issue.

Officials at Cabrillo have tried for the past two years to switch to a year-round calendar but have met with opposition from parents who have children in different schools and fear that their vacation schedules would be disrupted.

Officials felt that by putting the seven schools into a year-round system, it would help prevent students from the same family ending up on different schedules. All six elementary schools feed students to Cabrillo.

However, some Will Rogers and Poinsettia students also graduate to Balboa, Anacapa and De Anza middle schools.

Under a year-round schedule, students would generally be in class nine weeks and off three weeks throughout the year.

School officials argue that students retain information better, because they no longer have a three-month summer break between grades.

Ventura schools now on a year-round calendar include DeAnza Middle School and five elementary schools.