Ten schools join state plan to lengthen school days

Ten more schools will lengthen their days next year, more than doubling the number of Massachusetts schools that are adding class time in a bid to improve academics.

The state now has 19 schools that have agreed to add at least 300 hours to their school year, state education officials announced yesterday. The longer days are funded by $13 million in state money.

The idea is to improve student achievement by giving students more time to learn at a less- frenzied pace. Longer school days also allow for more diverse class offerings and more time for teachers to collaborate and plan, state education officials said.

"Nobody is questioning that one way to give kids a better education is to have them spend more time in school," said Heidi Guarino, spokeswoman for the Department of Education.

The Massachusetts program that began last school year is at the vanguard of a national movement toward longer days, which has been spurred by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Under the law, if a school fails to meet benchmarks in reading and math testing, it is labeled as needing improvement. Schools are considering extending learning time as a way to avoid that designation.

Schools expanding days next school year include two in Greenfield and two in Worcester, along with single schools in Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Lynn, and Malden. The Boston Arts Academy is the first high school in the state to expand learning time.

Greenfield School Committee member Jennifer Mahar said some parents objected to the expanded day, saying it was too long for elementary-school-age children. They also worried that the added activities made school more like a day care. But Mahar said officials decided the academic benefits outweigh any negatives.