Extended School Day Could Help Kids

Chicago's public schools have a shorter school day than schools in New York, Los Angeles and practically every district in Illinois.

Chicago’s public schools have a shorter school day than schools in New York, Los Angeles and practically every district in Illinois. CPS is now considering lengthening the school day by two hours by using computer-based technology, with aides available to help students. The initiative would focus on Chicago’s struggling elementary schools, the worst of which are among the lowest-performing schools in America.

The details of the plan have yet to emerge, but Chicago Teachers Union officials have already come out against it. Why? Because the extended day initiative wouldn’t add teachers to union rolls.

A U.S. Department of Education review of the highest-quality research recently concluded that students enrolled in schools that significantly mix standard classroom lessons with individualized online learning, on balance, do better than similar students in traditional public schools. Charter schools throughout Chicago are showing that additional instructional time can lead to significantly better results. CPS is looking to apply a valuable lesson from these schools by implementing change in struggling, district-run schools. Of course, the Chicago Teachers Union has always opposed charter schools and virtual learning programs, so their opposition to CPS’ new plan is unsurprising, if tiresome.

The Chicago Public Schools needs to urgently and fundamentally change how hundreds of schools are run. A plan to do so should receive a full hearing before anyone decides to defend the failing status quo.

Day in and day out, students in Chicago’s schools learn too little. If you’re a parent, where do you want your kids after the school day ends at 3 p.m.?

What if your kids could be back in school for a couple hours, learning via software that adapts to their individual needs and talents?

Colin Hitt
Director of Education Policy
Illinois Policy Institute