Massachusetts is the first state giving out grants to school districts to pursue a longer school day — and 20 districts have applied for the money. Murphy Middle School in Boston is already experimenting with a longer day, offering help with homework and extra curriculum until late in the evening.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Just about everybody agrees that when it comes to education, the more      learning, the better.  That's why some schools across the country are      experimenting with longer school days and weekend classes.  So far these      initiatives have been limited to individual schools and school districts.      Now Massachusetts has become the first state to launch a systemwide      effort to extend the traditional six-hour school day.  NPR's Anthony      Brooks reports.</s>ANTHONY BROOKS reporting: It's just after 2:30 in the afternoon, and across the city of Boston,      most kids are on their way home from school.  But inside the Murphy      Middle School, a public school in the Dorchester neighborhood, a full      afternoon of work is just getting started.</s>ANTHONY BROOKS reporting: Unidentified Teacher #1:  Boys and girls, we're back to silent homework      time for five more minutes, and then I have your snack.</s>BROOKS: Three hundred kids, about a third of this school's population,      take part in this extended-day program that runs until 6 PM.  They can      get help with their homework or take extra reading and math classes.</s>BROOKS: Unidentified Teacher #1:  What happens--actually, Lam(ph), can you go and      add the 0 and bring down another 0 on that?</s>BROOKS: They can study piano and violin, or join a hip-hop dance class.</s>BROOKS: Unidentified Teacher #2:  Ready?  Let's start with looking right and      left. Right, and left, and left...</s>BROOKS: They can do sports, take art classes or study French, as well as      Japanese.</s>BROOKS: Unidentified Teacher #3:  OK.  So we're going to start with (Japanese      spoken). Let's go again.  (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: Unidentified Teacher #3:  (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: Unidentified Teacher #3:  (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: Unidentified Teacher #3:  (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: Unidentified Teacher #3:  (Japanese spoken).</s>Group of Students: (Japanese spoken).</s>BROOKS: Many of the students at the Murphy School come from low-income      families, but they earn some of the highest reading and math scores in      the city.  Principal Mary Russo says this program is an important reason      why.</s>Ms. MARY RUSSO (Principal, Murphy Middle School): Well, what's different      now is that students are required to learn to standards all over the      country, and in order to reach those standards, which are tougher now and      more rigorous, students need more time to learn.</s>BROOKS: Holly Concannon(ph) agrees.  She's a fourth-grade teacher here      who says the traditional six-hour school day is just too short to meet      the new, tougher standards.</s>Ms. HOLLY CONCANNON (Fourth-Grade Teacher): It's very challenging to fit      it all in, and things like recess are sacrificed.  You know, there's the      guilt of not allowing the children to have recess, and then there's the      guilt of `If I take them to recess, what am I missing?'</s>BROOKS: This program is voluntary, but it offers a glimpse of what      public education could look like in the years ahead.  Many charter      schools across the country, with freedom to experiment, use longer days,      particularly in urban districts which otherwise have few after-school      academic programs for their kids, who often need them the most.</s>Mr. CHRIS GABRIELI (Massachusetts 2020 Foundation): The real question      is, what is the amount of time that kids need to succeed?</s>BROOKS: That's Chris Gabrieli, who heads the Massachusetts 2020      Foundation, a non-profit group pushing for a longer school day.</s>Mr. CHRIS GABRIELI (Massachusetts 2020 Foundation): The notion that every kid can succeed in exactly the same      amount of time, 180 days, six hours a day, is sort of nonsensical on its      face. So why not expand school to be significantly more time, contain      considerably more of the things that kids need to succeed, meaning      enrichment, arts, music, drama, sports, depending on their needs?</s>BROOKS: Gabrieli has pushed the idea in the Massachusetts Legislature,      which approved about a half million dollars worth of planning grants to      help districts design school days that would be a full 30 percent longer.      Twenty districts, including Boston, have applied for the money.  So has      the small city of Lowell, Massachusetts, where school superintendent      Karla Baehr says a longer day and a longer school year would help the      city's large immigrant population.</s>Ms. KARLA BAEHR (Lowell School Superintendent): Our youngsters would      greatly benefit from the opportunity to be in settings where they're      constantly encouraged to speak, to listen, to read and to really develop      their language skills.</s>BROOKS: But Baehr says the trick will be to design a longer school day      that works, and then sell the concept to politicians, teachers and      parents.</s>Ms. KARLA BAEHR (Lowell School Superintendent): This is not simple, because when you shift from voluntary to      mandatory, when you really think about it as integrated and coordinated      with the regular school program, it's very challenging.</s>BROOKS: Catherine Boudreau, president of the Massachusetts Teacher      Association, is open to some of the benefits of a longer school day, but      she says it shouldn't be required.</s>Ms. CATHERINE BOUDREAU (President, Massachusetts Teacher Association): I'm not even sure that teachers believe mandatory extended day is good      for students.  There are parents that would like their children to come      home, play outside and not be at school from 7:00 in the morning to 6:00      at night.  They would like their children to have some childhood.</s>Ms. CATHERINE BOUDREAU (President, Massachusetts Teacher Association): Unidentified Teacher #4:  Now my answer--OK?  No more remainders.  We      don't want to use it, OK?--in sixth grade.  Twenty-five...</s>BROOKS: At the Murphy School, some teachers voice similar concerns.  But      Principal Mary Russo says she favors a fundamental restructuring of the      school day, not just extending more of the same.</s>Ms. MARY RUSSO (Principal, Murphy Middle School): Sometimes when it's presented to people in terms of time,      they think, `Oh, well, more time doesn't necessarily equal higher      achievement.' But if you think about balancing recreation, academics,      arts, I think you're talking about a much stronger educational      experience.</s>Ms. MARY RUSSO (Principal, Murphy Middle School): Unidentified Teacher #4:  Right now...</s>BROOKS: Paul Reville, who heads the Rennie Center for Education in      Cambridge, agrees.  He points out kids from Europe to Asia spend a lot      more time in classrooms than do American kids, who are stuck with an      outdated academic calendar.</s>Mr. PAUL REVILLE (Rennie Center for Education): We're essentially in a      post-industrial information age, with an agrarian model of education      time.  We sent them home in the afternoon to do chores on the farm.  We      sent them home all summer to bring in the harvest.  And we're still doing      that, even though 1 or 2 percent of our population is engaged in      agriculture.</s>BROOKS: But the biggest challenge may be cost.  While the state has      committed just a half million dollars in planning grants, it will require      much more to implement longer school days statewide, and it's not yet      clear if the public is committed to such a large investment.  Anthony      Brooks, NPR News, Boston.