In 2007, 22 Wake County, North Carolina traditional calendar schools were switched to year-round calendars, spreading the 180 instructional days evenly across the year. This paper presents a human capital model to illustrate the conditions under which these calendars might affect achievement. We then exploit the natural experiment to evaluate the impact of year-round schooling on student achievement using a multi-level fixed effects model. Results suggest that yearround schooling has essentially no impact on academic achievement of the average student. Moreover, when the data are broken out by race, we find no evidence that any racial subgroup benefits from year-round schooling. (JEL H75, I21, I28, J24)S ummer vacation, a much anticipated three-month break from school, has long been a staple of the US education system. Recent concern over tightening budgets and summer learning loss, however, has led to growing discussion over the merits of "modified" year-round school calendars. Such calendars spread the same number of school days over a longer period, effectively breaking up the long summer break into four or more smaller breaks throughout the year. 1 According to the National Association of Year-Round Education, over two million students attended a year-round school in 2007. 2 This number, about 4 percent of all US students, represents a marked increase from the 360,000 students (roughly 0.7 percent of all US students) who attended a year-round school in 1986. 3 While the number of year-round schools is on the rise, there is currently little consensus on the relative benefit (or cost) such a schedule affords. Rather, calendar conversions have 1 Thus, this type of year-round calendar is different from the "extended year" calendar, where the number of instructional days is increased.

Objectives Universities increasingly emphasize the importance of leadership skills, but budget shortfalls in public high schools threaten the availability of leadership opportunities for many youths. Few studies, however, have examined the impact of high school leadership experience on key economic outcomes. This study narrows this gap by estimating the causal impact of leadership in high school on educational attainment measured several years later. Methods The article uses data from the National Education Longitudinal Study. To address selection bias, the effect of high school leadership is estimated using ordinary least squares, propensity score matching, and instrumental variables models. Results Every estimation method and model specification examined implies that high school leadership has a large, positive impact on postsecondary educational attainment. Conclusions This article indicates the impact of high school leadership is, at a minimum, nontrivial. This result implies decisions regarding financial cutbacks for extracurricular activities should not be taken lightly.

In the face of school crowding and fears about inequalityinducing summer learning loss, many schools have started to adopt multi-track year-round school calendars, which keep the same number of school days, but spread them more evenly across the calendar year. This change allows schools to support a larger student population by rotating which students are on break at any point in time. While year-round schooling can save money, the impact on academic achievement is uncertain and only recently have large-scale studies become available for policy makers. This brief examines research on the effects of multi-track year-round schooling, focusing on two rigorously executed case studies. This research gives little support for claims that year-round schooling will boost student achievement. Except as a remedy for highly over-crowded schools, year-round schooling seems to have little impact on achievement, and has even been shown to decrease achievement, especially among the most high-risk student populations.

The chapter will begin by defining empathy and theory of mind (ToM), key constructs for showcasing the importance of simulations and immersive experiences to help typical children better understand the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities. The authors will delineate strengths and limitations associated with Autism, ADHD, Visual, Hearing and Physical Impairment. Next, the chapter will introduce Affect/Effort Theory to demonstrate how formulating positive expectancies of individuals with disabilities will be critical to interest typical children in their peers with disabilities. Moreover, the chapter will highlight the strengths, limitations and best practices for optimizing VRT and disability simulations to enhance typical children's knowledge, intentions and attitudes towards peers with disabilities. Finally, the authors will share qualitative data from a pilot disability simulation of eight children in third through sixth grade from a Camp in Liberty, NY. The results will be discussed in light of future possibilities for effective VRT-based disability simulations.

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