Possible Longer School Days For Southampton Schools

Southampton school district has received a state grant that could lead to extending the school day by over an hour, Newsday reports.

The district is one of nine districts in the state to win $2.6 million a year for two years as part of New York State Extended Learning Time’s $24 million grant program.

The program will add 300 hours a year of school time for the next two years, for Southampton Elementary School, Southampton Intermediate school, or both.

At a meeting at Southampton High School on Wednesday, some parents expressed concerns about extending the school day for students juggling ”sports, other activities and homework”, according to Newsday.

“Where in God’s name do you think you’re going to extract another two hours from this kid’s life?” Rob Herrmann, whose son is in fourth grade, told Newsday. “ . . . We’re going to centralize every kid’s life around school and have him sitting in school for nine hours?”

However, the district has not yet decided whether or not to accept the grant and wants to hear from parents over the next year, Superintendent of Schools Scott Farina said. The decision will be made by September 2015.

Read the full story at Newsday.com.

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