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A study by the North Carolina Public School Forum found that lengthening the
school year to 200 days in all North Carolina schools would mean spending
an additional $180 million by the year 2001.
(Times-News, Hendersonville, NC, 5/28/95)
The research on instructional time and how it is used in the classroom
revealed that 30-55% of actual class time was used productively for students.
Most of the remaining time the students were not doing productive things.
Randal Smasal, teacher and co-author of an article about lost instructional
time (Coon Rapids Herald, Coon Rapids, MN, 1/6/95)
"At one time, Omaha World Herald editorials favored a longer school year.
But increasingly, we are coming to the view that other things are more
important in the way of educational reform. If kids aren't learning what
they need in 175 or 180 days, adding a few more days isn't likely to get
the process started. Education reform should start by finding out how to
use the available time better, not simply by adding more time.
(Omaha World Herald, 9/11/94)
"We don't have any record of anyone trying more than a 180-day year, but
many of the districts are going back to traditional schedules. They told me
year-round education was just not as effective as they thought it would be."
Becky Simms, Florida Department of Education
(Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, FL, 6/16/98)
Gov. Pete Wilson's proposal to lengthen the school year by up to eight days
should be rejected because it is not a proven method of boosting student
performance, the Legislature's budget analyst said. In a detailed report on
Wilson's proposed $73.8 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins
July 1, Hill also projected that the state will have $1.2 billion more to spend
than estimated in the budget. (Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA, 2/19/98)
Georgia students could spend the equivalent of 16 extra days in schools
because of expanded hours tentatively approved by the state Board of
Education, but state School Superintendent, Linda Schrenko, said she
would oppose the plan when the board meets in December.
"They're confusing quantity with quality," she said.
(Athens Daily News, Athens, GA, 11/15/96)
"More does not always mean better. Simply requiring more days will not
improve the quality of education. It's going to take something else."
Ellsworth Superintendent Kent Gerhart (Salina Journal, Salina, KS, 10/28/9
"It simply means you're going to spend 20 more days teaching the same
thing. It means grinding the wheel more and no true school reform."
Darrell Larkin, union President (Los Angeles Times-Ventura County Edition,
Ventura, CA, 12/7/95)
J. David Martin, superintendent of Henry County schools, advocates
"concentrating on quality rather than quantity" by better using available time
instead of lengthening the school day.
(Martinsville Bulletin, Martinsville, VA, 8/27/95)
" If you're doing the wrong thing nine months of the year and you do it for three
extra months, you're not helping the children." Brewser Brown, spokesman for
Florida education commissioner (Baltimore Sun, 4/2/95)
"Rather than assume that more time will yield better students, let's take a
look at what would happen on those extra days. If another month of school
means another month of memorization, lecture and word-search puzzles, then
what's the point?" Steven R. Wills, columnist (Springfield Sun, 2/16/95)
"I'm against extending the school year until we regain lost instructional time.
That's what we're after, more instructional time. First we have to improve what
we have before we should ever extend the school year." Randal Smasal,
teacher at Roosevelt Middle School (Coon Rapids Herald, 1/6/95)
Florida, California, and Texas were in the forefront earlier this decade to
educate students for more than the standard 180 days a year. But the number
of schools making the switch has slowed in recent years, and some
communities, including several in Florida, have gone back to the traditional
school year. Three years ago, 165 public elementary, middle and high
schools in Florida were on year-round schedules. Now there are just 38.
(Sarasota Herald Tribune, Sarasota, FL, 8/24/97)
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