Mass. more than doubles number of schools with an expanded day

BOSTON --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 Thursday.

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 say.

"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 law. 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.

Still, not all schools in Massachusetts that have considered the idea have adopted it, due to concerns about continued state funding and the effects on students' after-school commitments.

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.

The longer days are funded by $13 million in state money -- about $1,300 per student a year. Interested districts must propose a detailed plan to increase their hours by 25 percent, or 300 hours. That's a little more than 1.6 hours per 6.5 hour school day, but schools can spread the time around as they choose.

Greenfield school committee member Jennifer Mahar said some parents objected to the expanded day, saying it was too long for elementary school-aged children. They also worried the added activities made school more like a day care and wouldn't enhance education.

But Mahar said school officials decided the academic benefits outweighed any negatives.

"We believe that it was a great opportunity for students," Mahar said. "It brings in more extra curricular things, more elective things."

The added time is meant to enhance education and engage students, not just keep them in classes longer, Guarino said.

Last year, for instance, the Jacob Hiatt Magnet School in Worcester used its extra time to develop relationships with nearby Old Sturbridge Village and the Worcester Center for Crafts. They held "Museum Days" featuring student work, Guarino said.

Two Cambridge schools used the time to implement an innovative math program.

"The goal is to be creative with the schedule and with teaching methods and to use the additional time wisely," Guarino said.

The Massachusetts 2020 Foundation, an educational nonprofit that advocates for longer days, said not enough data exists after just one year to show any benefits of more learning time. But its polling of parents shows overwhelming support due to improved academics and behavior, spokeswoman Erika Soto Lamb said.

Longer school days aren't for every district, which must negotiate additional pay for teachers to expand the time. Twenty-nine districts have received grants to plan for implementing extended learning time either this school year or next, and eight districts moved forward this year. Some are still planning, but others, including Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District in Orange, decided against it.

Administrators there cited student conflicts with after-school jobs and sports, as well as worries about continued state funding.

Guarino said education officials believe positive results will ensure extending learning initiatives continue to receive the needed money. She noted that Gov. Deval Patrick supports more time for teaching and learning.

"Our hope is that the funding will follow the success," she said.