I'm not sure if I like the idea of an extended day. There are pros and cons. The pros would be that our children would learn more which would better prepare them for life. The cons would be that extracurricular activities might be hindered, and children need an outlet outside of academics. A lot of children are already struggling in school, and by extending the school day, this would add to their struggles.

My k-5 school was year round and I liked it just fine. I never knew any different so I thought all grade schools were that way. When my sisters moved on to the middle and high schools in that town they were on the 9 months schedule due to sports schedules.

Ours was an odd system used to manage overcrowded schools. It was the 45/15 plan with four tracts (a,b,c and d) Each tract went to school for 45 days then had 15 off. However, the breaks were staggered so that only three of the tracts were in school at any given time. It did manage the overcrowding and the teachers seemed to like the year round paycheck. Tracts were divided along neighborhood boundaries so the kids you were usually friends with anyway were in and out of school the same time as you.

We don't have busing in this district so our six building all start and end within 20 minutes of each other. The earliest begins at 7:50, latest ending at 3:15. It works with parents traveling building to building. I would love to see us extended to 4:00 with the same start times. Or better yet, let's go year round. We have a Native Reservation in this area doing year round schooling and I haven't heard one bad thing about it. In fact, I have heard wonderful benefits, even from the parents. I was told the first year was by trial and error but once the kinks got worked out, the majority love it. I'm willing to give it a try.

(k-5) 8:30 - 2:30
(6-8) 9:20 - 4:00
(9-12) 7:30 - 2:15

For us, right now it seems longer hours would just get us in line with some other parts of the country!

I agree, ScottMom, that extended hours can be hugely beneficial in the right environment. And I applaud any efforts that reach out to kids who easily fall through the cracks right now. I would just hope that there's a way to opt out of the extended day if parents chose to do so.

Not that I'm sure I would want this to happen, but I can see how, especially in areas where schools are providing structured before and after school programs, why this would be extremely beneficial. I know a large protion of our population is invited to attend tutoring when we have the funds to offer it. I also know that lots of our students go home to an empty house after school and this could have major benefits. If it were nothing but a longer version of what they already do, I wouldn't see any need, but expanding to offer more programs that might inspire and maybe outreach the "required" would be a HUGE improvement in my mind. Not until 5pm, but maybe 8am to 4 or 4:30pm (we go from 8:30-3:30), with a nutritious snack, would make a lot of sense for our school and I see it making things easier for lots of working parents. By the way, my oldest is on our Math Team and StuCo and is already at school late several days. He is also in band, which he takes twice a week instead of music for one day and PE for another and this would be a way to help get it all in.