A quarterly system with two week breaks between quarters would help solve these problems. There would be a downside for the substantial summer camp industry, and for teachers who have found lucrative and stable summer jobs for a second income. But given a choice, I think a lot of parents would be eager to go to year round schooling. The laggards would come around soon enough if the new system indeed paid off with improved academic performances.
an excuse
The issue for working parents is the constant grind of working out a schedule of camps and vacations to fill a three month gap.
they seem to manage soccer and sports scheduling ok
For older kids, the reality is that there aren't enough summer jobs to go around, so a lot of teens are hanging around looking for trouble
So kids are too lazy to be motivated to find or make work now so we have to baby sit - is that your point?
And then there is the reality of an enormous and expensive physical plant sitting idle for a quarter of the year.
Again, hogwash. If you aren't heating/cooling you aren't spending money. In the day the above weren't issues at all and our education system was the best ever. Now the kids are indoctrinated with PC crap, common core, submission to islam and LGBT doctrine, etc. As I said - gov't babysitting.