Time Marches On

The NY Times reports on the growing movement to extend the school day. Mass Gov. Patrick has proposed doubling the funding for the state's existing "extended learning time" initiative. That means twice as many participating schools- up to twenty- next year in Massachusetts. And hopefully it also means doubling efforts to evaluate the program, which is high stakes at this point as attention to the issue grows at the local and federal levels. Not everyone agrees- some parents, mostly the more affluent ones, are concerned that it will cut into family time and stress out the kids. Others are more concerned about burn-out among teachers, a likely challenge even for the best planned initiatives. And everyone agrees it is expensive. But the movement is afoot. Spitzer's on board, now proposing an extended day as one of five options for NY's low-performing schools, and many other states and districts are not far behind.