Family Life

12.03.12 | Sarah Harnisch

New York will be increasing classroom time in thousands of schools across the state. The Empire state is among five states trying the program: Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Schools will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar starting in 2013 to make them more competitive globally. The three-year pilot program will affect almost 20,000 students in 40 schools in the Empire State. Schools, working in concert with districts, parents and teachers, will decide whether to make the school day longer, add more days to the school year, or both. Education officials say spending more time in the classroom will give students access to a more well-rounded curriculum, individualized help for those who fall behind and opportunities to reinforce math and science skills.