Merit in longer school year

Gazette Editorial Board

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When it comes to throwback practices in public education, the 6 1/2-hour school day and 180-day school year that Iowa has long maintained is at the top of the list.

Lengthening the school day or school year is one idea that keeps coming to the surface as Gov. Terry Branstad and education staff travel the state, holding town hall meetings to discuss their reform agenda.

And even though longer school hours aren't part of the governor's draft blueprint for overhauling our education system, expanding school hours is an idea legislators should add to their agenda when they begin debating reform this winter. It deserves serious discussion.

Compare Iowa's school calendar to that of their higher-performing peers in Canada, who spend 194 days per year in the classroom, or Finland, at 190 days.

Students in Australia, Germany and South Korea spend more than 200 days in class. Japanese students, 240 days.

That's up to 60 more classroom days for students to learn core lessons and practice essential skills.

Iowa's shorter school schedule made sense decades ago, when children's labor on home farms were essential to family survival.

Not so much anymore.

As Cedar Rapids Superintendent Dave Benson recently told a Gazette reporter: “The calendar needs to change because the world has changed.”

He's proposed gradually adding days over a decade to bring the current school calendar to 200 days. Other educators have suggested adding hours to existing school days to match the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule of most working parents.

We think both ideas have merit and warrant vetting. Branstad's plan calls for an educational system to rival the world's finest, yet he's expecting our schools to deliver that education in substantially less time.

The governor's plan does call for longer school years for teachers, and for summer programming for third-graders who need extra support in reading.

Some foes of more classroom time say it sends the wrong message. They think schools should worry more about what they learn, not the length of a school day.

But a longer school day or year doesn't necessarily conflict with competency-based initiatives such as expanding online learning or allowing students to receive credit and move ahead once they demonstrate proficiency.

Adding more hours could help struggling students catch up. It also could help or allow all students to progress more quickly.

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