The NAACP is asking that more hours and days be added to school calendars, but such a move has already been made in Greenwood, said Greenwood Public Schools Interim Superintendent Jennifer Wilson.
According to Wilson, the district began adding hours in 2010.
“We’ve added 15 minutes to each school day, which equates to 45 hours per year,” Wilson said. “Plus, through our 21st Century after-school program, we’ve added nine hours per week.”
But there is a key difference between the additional hours suggested by the NAACP and the hours already added in the Greenwood Public Schools: Under the NAACP’s proposal, the hours would be part of the normal school day, not voluntary after-school programs.
Both President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have endorsed the proposed addition of hours. Districts in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Colorado and Tennessee already have extended school hours, based on the idea that spending more time in the classroom will help students achieve greater academic success.
In Massachusetts, the Expanded Learning Time Initiative adds at least 300 hours to the school year and costs districts about $1,300 extra per child. Those extra funds appear to be paying off. According to reporting by The Christian Science Monitor, one Boston middle school was on the verge of closing when it adopted ELT. It is now outperforming the state in its standardized scores.
Experts are quick to point out, however, that simply adding time to the school day means little. Instead, ELT calls for innovative ways to use the extended time, including new teaching methods.
Wilson said she agrees.
“It is not just more days; it is the quality of those days,” she said.
Advocates for adding hours say it also ensures students’ safety, since it offers guidance to those who might not have a watchful eye on them when they leave school. Wilson said this is one factor of Greenwood’s after-school program.
“It keeps kids engaged; it helps parents in making sure their kids are in a safe environment,” she said.
Wilson says Greenwood Public Schools has effectively used its extra time by teaching not only the core academic subjects in its after-school program but also the arts. She said access to technology also plays a big role in those extra hours.
According to Duncan, extending the school day is a way to make students more globally competitive.
“Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here,” he recently told The Associated Press. “I want to just level the playing field.”
State Rep. Linda Whittington, D-Schlater, said she thinks mandatory extended school days are a good idea.
“It depends on our ability to pay for it and the schools buying in,” said Whittington.
Wilson said that for some school districts, funding might be a struggle. Still, she said, needing to move funds might be worth it.
“Additional days, targeted towards key objectives and time on task, increases student success,” she said.
• Contact Jeanie Riess at 581-7235 or jriess@gwcommonwealth.com.
