State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) believes students in Alabama would benefit from a year-round school calendar.

HB333 was introduced this week by Collins, and would give school districts in the state the option to change to a year-round calendar and include 30 extra days on instruction in the school year.

The changes to the calendar would be optional and decided by the school districts.

Friday, on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” Collins defended her bill and discussed the benefits of allowing year-round school calendars.

“I … met with a school in Mobile area that’s already doing this within the days they have,” Collins said. “So basically they have about one week off every month and still about six weeks in the summer and their teachers love it, their students love it. It’s been a very positive thing for their student achievement. And nothing is forced.”

Collins explained some of the ways year-round schooling could help students succeed.

“(W)hat I learned is this was good for mental health for teachers and students,” she said. “You get a break more regularly. You can set it up so that you’re on nine-week schedules and then, for one to three weeks, you’re either out, but you’re doing summer programming or extended programming or enrichment of some kind. And then there are so many different ways you could do it and I believe people would like it once they’re in it.”

Collins admitted, though, that she has heard from some of her constituents who are strongly opposed to the idea.

“I’ve probably got more hate mail over this bill than anything in a while,” she said. “And it’s just because people don’t like change. But the people that are doing this are liking it. The students that are involved in it, their achievement is improving.”

She also pointed out that teachers would be compensated for the extra days they’d have to work because of the change to the calendar.

“(T)his bill comes with a grant so we can pay them more,” she said. “So we can pay additional money for the summer. I think it has a lot of potential. I think it’s going to take a very creative and innovative superintendent and school board to set it up, but I hope some out there will try it because I do think it’s got a lot of potential to be successful.”

Collins said allowing schools to have more options is better for everyone involved in the system.

“I believe that a creative school system could work so you could modify and students could work part day and still be in school part day in those summer months,” she said. “I think we can make it work, we’re just going to have to be creative.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee