Longer School Days are the Start of an Educational System Overhaul

Education is the most important part of a child’s life. They might not see it that way, but it is true. All of the time that they spend in the classroom is supposed to prepare them for the outside world. When the current system does not seem to work anymore what are administrators to do? In Broward County, FL 32 elementary schools are now required to add one hour to the end of their school day.

There is only one exception to this rule, students who receive a perfect score of five on the reading portion of the exam. Parents in this county are worried that by expanding school hours, it will cut into their family and free time. 

Schools all over the country have been extending time in the classroom and it has generally been found that for every 10 percent increase in time there has been a two percent jump in learning. (Schachter, 2011) Several schools in Boston, MA have been working with extended time for several years now and they have seen student’s improvement. There is also a district in Denver, CO who has found their teachers to be very supportive of this.

Other schools in Broward County that were on the under performance list last year were required to have extended hours. This year, those schools have managed to get themselves off the list. In order to get children to see that education is not a joke, adding extra school time might be the first step of a long and expensive overhaul of the educational system. 

Jennifer Aguirre,

Governmental Affairs

GAACS Accreditation