patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Longer School Days

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

LIFE IN THE MOM LANE

Are Long School Days the Answer to Educational Concerns?

There has been recent talk of longer school days, but one mom doesn't believe it's the right option for children.

  Lately there has been a lot of talk about increasing the length of time that students spend in the classroom each day. Recently, it was announced that a pilot program will be introduced in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Tennessee and Colorado that will allow some cities and towns to lengthen the school day. The goal is to determine if the move to a longer school day will help students to achieve more academically. Here in Massachusetts, two towns, Lawrence and Fall River, are expected to participate in the program which will add approximately 300 hours of learning time to the school year. The pilot program is expected to continue for approximately three years. Now, let’s face it. As moms we do joke around a lot about dying for …

B Springer

10:04 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I would not like to see our school days increased although I understand that some cities have had success with such programs, especially in neighborhoods where there is no safe after-school refuge. Personally, I'd rather have my kids home with me earlier in the day. Having said that, if they lengthened the school day but eliminated homework, I may feel differently!!   more ›

Monday, December 3, 2012

Longer School Days Are Coming to Select Massachusetts Schools

Massachusetts is one of five states to add 300 hours of class time every year for certain schools. Will it help?

Will more time in school translate into greater student achievement? Federal and state officials are announcing today that Massachusetts, along with Connecticut, New York, Tennessee and Colorado, are participating in a pilot program to find out. Csmonitor.com reports that the program will add at least 300 hours of learning time in some schools starting next fall.  Fall River and Lawrence are the two Massachusetts towns included in the pilot project. Boston.com reports that this new program adds to an effort launched six years ago in Massachusetts to lengthen the school day in several school districts. The pilot program reportedly will last three years and include almost 20,000 students in 40 schools with an eye to bringing in more schools …

Alex Bonnar

7:41 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012

I'll be interested to see how they are going to add 300 hours. That's a LOT of hours. With at least 180 days per year, that's 1 hr 40 minutes per day if we don't add any days.   more ›

Got a Hot Tip?