Forty Chicago Schools Implement Expanded School Day

Forty Chicago Schools Implement Expanded School Day.

The Huffington Post (1/10) reports, "Forty schools across Chicago that signed on to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's longer school day initiative earlier this year greeted students returning from winter break Monday with an extra 90 minutes of instruction." The piece notes that 38 are charters and two are traditional public schools, and that they "agreed to begin a longer school day in January, debuting new schedules this week that include extra time for reading, social studies, fitness classes or recess and new character development lessons. ... The CPS schools lengthening school days this week will have $75,000 in incentive funds to help occupy the extra time with meaningful instruction, and the charter schools making similar schedule adjustments were also extended monetary incentives for starting early."

 

The Chicago Tribune (1/10, Ahmed-Ullah) reports that the schools which spurned Emanuel's "financial incentives," will implement the expanded school day next school year. "The longer day initiative has been controversial," the Tribune reports, noting that the "Chicago Teachers Union filed an unfair labor complaint last fall, alleging the district coerced and intimidated teachers into voting for the extra minutes. Chicago Public Schools officials say so far elementary schools that implemented the longer schedule starting in September have logged up to 85 extra hours of instruction with most of that time focused on reading, math and science."