SAN CLEMENTE : Grade School Adopts Year-Round Schedule

In a move designed to better meet the needs of students, Las Palmas Elementary School will become the first in the Capistrano Unified School District to operate solely on a year-round basis.

In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the Board of Trustees approved the change for the school, which since 1988 had operated both a year-round schedule and a traditional calendar for students.

But teachers and administrators say that with budget cuts in recent years, the switch to just a year-round calendar will allow them to better use resources.

In a recent survey of parents whose children are enrolled in the school’s traditional calendar program, 73% said they would favor the switch to a year-round program.

Among parents whose children are already on the year-round calendar, 92% favored continuation of the program.

Under the year-round calendar, students generally go to school for 60 days and then get a 20-day break. The school year will start July 28 for an estimated 800 students.

The school will keep traditional winter and spring vacations.

Parents within the school’s boundaries who want their children to remain on the traditional calendar can send their children to Palisades or Concordia elementary school. Las Palmas is open to any child in the district.