Extension gets mixed reviews

Extending the school day to make up some of the days from more than three weeks of missed classes has gotten mixed reviews from administrators, teachers and students.

Jay Schools have been in class an extra hour every day since March 3. The school board originally approved extending the school day until April 8, and gave superintendent Tim Long the authority to continue the extended days into May if he found them to work well.

In early April, Long announced the extended school day would continue until May 9.

At each grade level, administrators have been pleased with how the extended school day worked at their schools. But some students have found the longer day to be difficult in some ways.

Jay County High School Principal Phil Ford said he was skeptical about extending the school day at first but has been happy with how students and staff have adjusted.

“You know, it’s actually worked better than I anticipated it would,” he said. “The students have really stepped up to the plate and have worked to utilize that time well. The teachers have used that time to progress in the curriculum.”

But pushing the end of school an hour later has created challenges for high school students who take part in extra-curricular activities, or have jobs, or both.

JCHS junior Morgan Brown noted that the extra hour takes away any break in her day as she often goes directly from school to track practice to work.

Her classmates, Malarie Houck and Catherine Dunn, agreed, saying some teachers are packing extra lessons into each class period. That can then lead to more homework, with less time to get it done.

“It’s very tiring,” said Dunn. “It takes a lot out of you. And then when you have practices, you get home so much later. It drains you.”

They said they would have preferred to have the missed days tacked on to the end of the year rather than having extended days for two months.

“I don’t think six days of an extra hour is worth one extra day,” said Houck.

Ben Dues, principal at Bloomfield Elementary, said his elementary-aged students also adjusted well to the extra hour.

“I think that given the situation we had, it was a great alternative,” he said.

Jay Schools’ original calendar set the final student day for May 22, but 16 missed days because of weather threatened to move the last day into the third week of June. Using the extended school day for the last two months, which allowed the corporation to recoup seven instructional days and built-in snow days, the last day of school is now scheduled for May 30.

The Indiana Department of Education this year allowed schools to add up to an hour per day in order to make up missed time.

Mike Crull, principal of West Jay Middle School, said parents and students have reacted well to the later release time. He echoed Dues, saying it was the best solution to make up so many missed days.

“I think with the number of full days we would have had to make up, it worked much better this way,” he said. “And it gives them their summer break.”

The high school uses the extra hour to extend each class period, Ford said, and teachers are using the extra time to help students prepare for End of Course Assessments and Advanced Placement tests.

“The days added onto the end wouldn’t really help with that,” Ford said. “By getting that time in prior to those testing days, we can actually use that time in preparation for those tests.”

Teachers at the elementary and middle schools have used the extra time to help students prepare for ISTEP.

The middle schools added eight minutes onto each class period.

“The teachers have done well,” said Crull. “I think it’s helped us make up things we missed because of the snow days…as far as getting kids ready for the ISTEP.”

Kyle Bischoff, an eighth-grade U.S. history teacher at East Jay Middle School, said he doesn’t mind the extended school day even though it gives him less time to unwind after the day is over.

“It’s really not too bad for me,” he said. “The only thing I’ve really noticed is my evenings are shorter.”

He likes the extended school day because it allows him more time to work one-on-one with his students.

“I think it’s been as positive as it can be,” he said.

Teachers at East Jay have made adjustments to keep students focused and energized toward the end of the day. He gives his students breaks during class time and they get snacks to try to keep the day from seeming too long.

“A 40-hour work week for a 13 year old is pretty tough,” he said. “You can definitely tell around the 4 o’clock hour they’re pretty tired.”

But administrators say extending the school day is something they’d recommend the school board consider doing again in the future.

Ford said it’s worked well, and if the school corporation has to make up as many days as this year, it would be a worthy consideration.

“It’s been valuable enough that I wouldn’t want to throw it away as an option at this time,” said Ford. “I think we’d sure want to take a look at it as a corporation.”[[In-content Ad]]