Longley Elementary School, located deep in Lewiston’s downtown, has been a place of significant change in recent years.

Adopting a year-round school calendar is the latest step in its march toward excellence.

An elementary school in the poorest Census tract in the city, Longley’s student population has long been what the federal government calls “economically disadvantaged,” which is simply a nice way of saying that too many students in these classrooms are living in poverty.

At Longley, the poverty is extreme, with nearly all students qualifying for free and reduced lunches.

And, with poverty, often come learning disadvantages.

It’s tough for children who are hungry, sleep deprived and in need of health care to come to class prepared to learn, or to be even the least bit excited about reading or arithmetic.

At Longley, the district has the added challenge of educating a population in which half the students are learning to speak English and acclimating to American norms, expectations and culture.

In 2009, the federal government made an offer to what it called “economically disadvantaged and failing” schools: money in trade for removing principals and teachers in designated failing schools.

Lewiston accepted $2 million, shifted Longley’s staff and implemented a parent-intensive partnership with teachers and students in a concentrated effort to improve test scores in three years.

It was, as then-Chairman of the Lewiston School Committee Jim Handy said, a “cataclysmic shift.”

That shift leveraged a number of other positive changes at the school, including monthly parent meetings, a school-based health care clinic, expanded food programs and an interesting disciplinary program where students stay in school and complete individualized lessons to serve detention instead of being sent home (where they are more likely to watch TV than read a chapter book).

It’s been a lot work, including forcing a culture shift to make more parents see the need for academic success, and it appears to be working.

Children are now, according to some parents, more interested in going to school. And, according to teachers, children seem more engaged and invigorated about their work.

Last year, Longley’s pilot summer program was so successful that it morphed into an after-school program in the fall, offering homework help and after-school activities.

It’s been a tremendous effort — and expense — to maintain this kind of innovation as the school’s population swelled.

When Longley was built, it was intended to house 200 students. In December, there were 344 enrolled with projected enrollment to be up 20 percent in the next decade. Administrators there see a real opportunity to improve academic performance by expanding the school year to run through summer.

According to federal researchers, students at urban schools lose about two months’ worth of learning during school vacation; when students return to school in the fall they are reviewing and repeating lessons they learned in the spring.

That’s not new, but it sure is inefficient.

School vacation is so ingrained in American culture, dating back to when families needed help on the farm, that it’s going to be hard to embrace this idea of year-round school. But, it’s the norm in other parts of the world. And, given the United States’ steadily dropping academic achievement when compared to other developed countries, something must be done to raise expectations and achievement in our schools.

Year-round school doesn’t necessarily mean more school days, although that might not be a bad thing since Maine’s 175-day calendar is one of the shortest school years in the country.

Year-round school means better scheduling of school days, and more frequent and refreshing — but shorter and less forgetful — breaks.

There is nothing more important to this country than having an innovative workforce supporting a self-sustaining economy. The spark for all that is education and aspiration.

Despite many difficult challenges, that spark is alive at Longley. We hope it ignites at other schools, fueling a better future for our children.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.

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