Three hundred hours. That’s the additional amount of learning time some Rochester City School students will start receiving next fall.
US Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, announced the Rochester City School District is among those in five states participating in the TIME (Time for Innovation Matters in Education) Collaborative. Students will receive additional classroom instruction and enrichment during the school year to help improve academic achievement. They'll also receive more access to arts, music and sports programs.
Superintendent, Dr. Bolgen Vargas, participated in a panel discussion in Washington D.C. during Monday's announcement. He said making this program work and last requires resources from community organizations.
"Part of the challenge here, about this opportunity gap, is that our students have less opportunity to go home to a household where they're going to get the support for their homework," Vargas said. "So I do believe that the school has the capacity, and the community, to mitigate that so it's coming together to the same table and seeing what children need," said Vargas.
Rochester Teacher's Association President, Dr. Adam Urbanski, also participated in Monday's panel.
He said 100% of teachers in the city school district support a better use of time in school. He said it's essential for teachers to have more flexibility to work and prepare for more useful time with their students.
"We are putting a premium on that in Rochester," said Urbanski. "Yes some kids needs more time, most kids in our district need more time...but all of our teachers need more time to be more thoughtful about the practice and to prepare better and to learn from each other," Urbanski said.
Nearly 4,000 district students are participating in the 3-year pilot program starting next fall. Superintendent Vargas says the goal is to make extended day learning available to all students in the city school system.
The TIME Collaborative is being funded through federal, state and district funds. It's also supported through grants from the Ford Foundation.