Will summer vacation turn into summer school?

One of the joys of summer for kids is re-packing the backpack. Out with schoolbooks and supplies and in with swimsuits, water wings and roller blades.

Well, maybe not.

Illustration from Time Magazine
There is a Time Magazine report that says:

Sorry, kids. A vacation-crushing theory on how to improve student performance is gaining traction: more time in class. Longer days, longer year. Goodbye, summer.

This strategy supported by Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan with cities and states experimenting with various approaches.

Cincinnati, Ohio, for example, in June started giving students in the city's 13 most persistently failing public schools the option of an extra month (a "fifth quarter") of classes. And Ohio Governor Ted Strickland hopes to phase in a similar 20-day extension at all schools statewide.

More of the story here.