D300 Looks at Lengthening Elementary School Day, Keeping High Schools Open Longer

ALGONQUIN, IL - District 300 is looking at new ways to provide a better learning experience for its students.

School officials have started looking into whether adding an extra hour to the elementary school day, which would make it the same length as its middle schools and high schools, or lengthening the school year could help provide its teachers with the “flexibility to provide student enrichment or remediation,” the Daily Herald reports. The hope would be, Superintendent Fred Heid told the newspaper, that the extra time would allow teachers to hone in on students individual needs and gear their lessons toward those needs.

Heid also said the school district is looking at the possibility of keeping high schools open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and allowing juniors and seniors to select classes from a course guide--similar to how a college student would set up their schedule, according to a newspaper.

"There isn't a district in the nation that does that," Heid told the newspaper.

None of the ideas have been brought to the school board at this point and are still in the preliminary stage of discussions, Heid told the Daily Herald.

The school district currently has nearly 21,000 students in Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, Barrington Hills, East Dundee, West Dundee, Gilberts, Pingree Grove, Hampshire and Sleepy Hollow.

More via the Daily Herald

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