Call for longer school year raises questions about sports

Governor Tom Vilsack’s call for a longer school year is meeting some resistance from those who worry about staging high school sports. While Vilsack himself has said he’s not yet calling for year-round school, just a discussion of keeping kids in the classroom longer, people like Ankeny wrestling coach Dave Ewing wonder how a sport’s season might change with a small break scheduled in the middle of it. “I was talking to a teacher here (who) was in Arizona and they would go eight weeks and they’d have two weeks off,” Ewing says. “I think a lot of it would depend on how it’s broken down and how it’s put together and I think those are some things we need to be taking a look at.”Ewing says a lot of teachers get a second job when they’re out of school in the summer, and many worry about the loss of that income.”Just hearing and talking to other faculty members, a lot of them are disgruntled about (Vilsack’s idea) because of just the overall thought of change,” he says. But don’t put Christy Deaver, a chemistry and physics teacher in Ankeny, in that category. “I like the idea of year-round schools,” Deaver says. “I think it would be a neat way to keep kids focused. Give them shorter breaks…but I understand in high schools that’s very hard to do because of extracurricular activities.” Vilsack spoke at Ankeny High School yesterday (Tuesday) morning and outlined his rationale for a longer school year.