Longer school day not for everyone: Mahar nixes idea, says it was bad fit for kids, families

[ Originally published on: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 ]

ORANGE -- Mahar Regional School students aren't facing longer school days come September. Extending the school day would ask too much change from students and faculty for the program to work in the coming year, said Reza Namin, superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District.

Despite the benefits of the program, 'we hit the wall, many walls, many times,' he said of problems that the program sponsors had no answers for.

In a letter to school families, Namin reviewed the findings of the community- and school-based group that studied the program.

The Extended Learning Time Initiative, a program of the state Department of Education, requires schools to extend their programs by 25 percent. In the case of Mahar, that would have meant adding 148 hours to its existing 990-hour year.

The program also required mandatory participation -- all 864 students in grades 7 through 12 would have to participate.

In return, the state would pay $1,300 per student to support the cost of the new activity.

Namin said one problem he had with the program was the uncertainty of the state's financing beyond the first year, as it would bebased on legislated budgets.

Hitting the wall

It was the mandatory participation requirement that really stumped the design team.

Namin said sports and after-school jobs were the hurdles they couldn't clear.

He explained 80 percent of the teachers are also coaches. All grades of the school have an established sports program with after-school practice time, and early-release time built into the athletes' class schedules to accommodate games and travel time.

A second hurdle was the schoolwide commitments after school that ranged from jobs to supporting the family by baby sitting to church commitments and dance lessons.

Namin pointed out that the program had never been implemented at a high school. It was the team's finding that the Extended Learning Time Program would, 'be very challenging to the community. It would have a negative impact on high school students' lives and education,' he said.

On the other hand

The design team realized that a funded extended-learning program could offer real benefits to the students in the school district.

The team made a list of needs of the students in the school district that ranged from student engagement in the school to enrichment programs, and increasing student achievement levels in the academic program.

The design team turned the study into an opportunity to examine the district with its range of cultures and needs. The district draws students from four towns: Orange, Wendell, New Salem and Petersham. Namin said Mahar educates students from communities with 'very unique social and economic backgrounds.'

The school had a grant of $10,000 to study the idea. The design team held public forums for ideas and concerns from parents across the district.

Namin said what the team learned will be incorporated into 'Vision 2009,' the district's strategic plan and used to consider alternative schedules and programs 'that will meet the needs of all students,' he wrote.

'We gave two messages. We identified priorities, shared priorities, and we were honest about it,' he said, expressing some pride in the process as time well spent.

You can reach Janet Bond at: jbond@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext.263..

 

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