Del. David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, has proposed legislation to lengthen the school year for K-12 students. The proposal, which was reviewed last night by the Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee of the House Education Committee, would increase the school year by 10 days over a 10-year period.
Beginning with the 2012-13 academic year, K-12 schools would see an increase of five-and-a-half "seat hours." Such an addition would occur each year until the school year consisted of 190 days rather than the current 180.
Similar proposals to increase the length of the school day have been considered by districts in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. Supporters of those plans, who perceive the classroom achievement of U.S. students as lagging behind the progress of students in other developed countries, hope more time in the classroom will increase student achievement.
"Del. Toscano actually taught at the University [of Virginia's] Semester at Sea this past semester, and as he was teaching around the world and experiencing the educational systems, he realized that many of the world's students are in school much longer than our students," said Sarah Buckley, legislative aide to the delegate. "The United States is consistently underperforming compared to these students who are in schools 190 to 200 days a year,"
The proposal will increase costs for schools, and Charlottesville School Board Member Juan Wade, in an interview with NBC29, raised concerns regarding how useful additional time in the classroom will be.
"We certainly wouldn't want to be in school for a longer period of time just to be some glorified babysitter," he told NBC29. "We want that to be real instructional time and of course with that additional time, how do we pay for it?"
Some programs and charter schools in impoverished inner cities which have lengthened the school year have seen gains in student achievement. The Knowledge is Power Program, which operates schools in areas with high poverty rates across the country, has students who attend class for a much larger portion of the year than the typical American student. Its students have seen gains in test scores, but additional research into whether longer school days increase student achievement has proven inconclusive.
Toscano's bill, HB 1871, was tabled last night by the subcommittee for further consideration and review.
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