School day extended in SAD 32
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
ASHLAND — The school days are getting a little longer in SAD 32.
According to Christopher Hallett, principal of the Ashland District School, an additional 25 minutes each day will give students more instructional time in literacy and mathematics, as well as any subjects the students may be struggling in.
For 20 years or better, the first bell rang at 7:50 a.m. with classes typically beginning at 8 a.m. Subsequently, the school day ended at 2:05 p.m. Hallett said starting this school year, classes will end at 2:25 p.m. and begin at 7:55 a.m.
“We were concerned about our ability to have enough instructional time with students. The schedule was always really tight and compressed and we felt the pressure from that,” said Hallett, noting that periods for grades 6-12 ranged from 40 to 43 minutes. “Most schools have periods of 50 minutes or so. Our typical classroom instructional time ended up being about 30 minutes when you take into account that the first few minutes of each period was spent setting up and the last few minutes of the period involved wrapping things up; that only left about 30 minutes of instructional time each period for the middle and high school students.
“The other reason for the change is that our assessment scores were not where we wanted them to be; they’re lower than we’d like,” he said. “We wanted to build in some extra time to focus on literacy and math. That’s what we’re using that extra time for — it’s not to lengthen the periods, but to reinforce what they’re learning in math and literacy throughout the day.”
Hallett explained that for students in pre-K-8, the 25 minutes will be designated for literacy and math with literacy beginning in the fall.
“For high-schoolers, the 25 minutes of student support time will be based on the needs of the student in all content areas,” he said. “If a student is struggling with biology, they’ll work with the biology teacher for a while. If they are struggling in Algebra II, they’ll be working with their math teacher, but after working with them if we see that they’re doing fine in algebra but need a little extra help in English, we’ll have them work with that teacher.
“If students are in good academic standing, they will have a rewards-based time for 25 minutes each day,” said Hallett. “This will hopefully inspire a greater interest in academic success.”
The additional time averages out to be an extra 2 hours per week, 73 hours per year, and 11.5 extra days per year.
Hallett anticipates that test scores will improve over time.
“We think with this extra focus on literacy and math that we’re going to be able to do that,” he said.
The idea of lengthening the school day was overwhelmingly supported by teachers and staff. Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said that teachers understood and supported the need for additional instructional time with students.
“Normally the added time to the teacher work day would be financially compensated through negotiations with the teachers’ union, but in this case, teachers understood our communities’ stressed financial status and agreed to add approximately 73 hours of uncompensated time to their work year,” he said. “That’s really appreciated by everyone. The additional time spent with students will make an educational difference down the road.”
Hallett called the longer school days a “positive change.”
“There’s a reason why our scores are where they’re at and I think it’s necessary that we make these changes. We expect to hear some grumblings from some of the students, but the parents that I’ve talked with are excited about it,” he said, noting that a mailing will go home to parents soon further describing the new plan.
The change will not affect bus routes; however, students will obviously get home slightly later than usual.
The first day of school in SAD 32 is Thursday, Sept. 8.
