The local news stations have been busy talking about local school districts that have extended their school day. You can read more about it by clicking here.
I'm not here to validate the longer school day nor will I debate the effectiveness of it. If you are interested in that information, you may find this interesting: http://www.nea.org/home/14511.htm (remember this is just one opinion).
However, I'm here to stress one point: Simply increasing the amount of hours students are in school will not increase long-term outcomes.
What is important: What are we doing with this additional time? Longer school days could just as easily result in more suspensions, tired students, and less learning.
The additional time being added to the school day needs to be done wisely. As reported in the WTNH news report, some schools will be adding nearly 300 additional hours of education. Those 300 hours need to be used wisely. It would be foolish to assume that all 300 hours should be used for instruction only. This time could also be used to help promote social/emotional literacy and increasing social interaction time between peers.
Sometimes less can be more..especially when not done effectively.
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