Longer School Days!!!!! Yipee!!!

As is the case in many schools around the country there are attendance issues. Students coming to school can be a real problem and hindrance to a student's academic success. There are schools that have developed programs and incentives that work. Even in those cases there will still be those few students who could care less about stickers or candy.

In many schools it is a chronic problem not just for a selected few students, but with most of the students in the building. Most of the student body refuses to come to school, not just one or two students. Teachers, counselors, and administrators alike work to develop plans and schemes to get these children to come to school. Not only are the children missing out on the education that we are trying to give them, but get this....the school gets "spanked" if a parent consistanly keeps a child home. So short of driving to each child's home and picking them up, schools are doing everything they can to get a child to come to school.

Not only do we need them to come to school, but we need for them to eat the meals the schools provide. We need them to eat our breakfast and our lunch so that we can "meet our numbers." (Topic for another day).

So with all of these attendance issues, which ultimately affects test scores, which ultimately affects AYP, someone came up with a very intelligent idea....let's extend the school day!! Yeah!!! Let's keep them in school for an extra hour and have them come two Saturdays a month and even extend their school year into July! Yes, that should work! This should make them come to school now if they didn't come to school before! Longer days in school will help!