As I have written before, there are now two elementary schools in Cambridge that have longer school days than the others -- the King School and the Fletcher-Maynard Academy.
This has put a new wrinkle into the mandatory assignments for kindergarten.
Last week, the question of longer hours for young children came up from some parents who had been mandatorily assigned and were looking at these schools, but were concerned about the additional two hours their four or five year-olds would have to attend.
Since the state does not require school attendance until age six, the question was: Could younger children opt out of the longer hours?
The answer is: Yes.
Administrators contacted the state about the requirements of the Extended Learning Time (ELT) grant, which funds the additional hours at both schools. They were told that although kindergartners are "highly encouraged to stay," it is possible for parents to pick them up early if they do not want them to attend school for the entire eight hours.
This pilot program is being very closely watched by educators and policy makers who believe more time is needed during the school day to close the achievement gap and provide an enriching, engaging education for all students, given Massachusetts' ambitious state curriculum frameworks. These two schools opted to expand their hours after both faculty and parents voted in favor.
For more information on the state program, contact Mass2020. To learn more about the Cambridge program, call the principals at King and Fletcher-Maynard.
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