The Columbus Dispatch

1/20/2007

On Jan. 3, Gov. Bob Taft pushed the state’s education system many steps forward when he signed the bill containing his Ohio Core plan. But then he took primary and secondary schools a quick step back, with a line-item veto of a provision to define the school year in hours rather than days.

About 86 percent of Ohio’s public and chartered nonpublic schools already exceed the state’s requirement of at least 910 hours of full-day kindergarten through sixth grades and 1,001 hours of seventh through 12 th grades. But when heavy snows, floods and other calamities close schools, districts often have trouble meeting the minimum-day requirement, which applies regardless of how many hours are spent in class.

Taft expressed concern that dropping the requirement that schools be open at least 182 days per year could lead to some schools opting for four-day workweeks.

Nevertheless, for cash-strapped districts trying to make ends meet, experimenting with schedules that resemble the common 9-to-5 workplace, or even four-day weeks, might prove useful in many ways.

If successful, such approaches not only could help balance budgets but could provide the beginnings of a model for an academic year with longer and more school days.

American students often find themselves unprepared for the global marketplace, compared with young people from Japan and other countries where the typical school day and school year are longer.

The innovative Houston-based Knowledge is Power Program, which will open schools in Columbus next year, has had great success in improving the academic performance of struggling students. Extended class time and shorter summer breaks are key elements of the program.

A schedule that more closely parallels that of the business world also could bring great relief to families of latchkey children, who, if not in afterschool day care, can spend hours unsupervised, waiting for working parents to come home.

The American education system is outdated, with school schedules designed to suit an agrarian society that virtually disappeared in the early 1900s. The education system will make dramatic strides only when antiquated structures are replaced.

Taft recognized the need to push for higher academic standards. But his Ohio Core plan is lacking in provisions for the extra class time many students will need to study subjects previously not required.

State Rep. Thom Collier, R-Mount Vernon, has the right idea. He promises to reintroduce legislation to count total classroom hours, not days, in state mandates. He has pushed for such a measure since 2003, after it was recommended by the State Board of Education.

Thus, whenever schools find themselves exceeding a state-allowed limit of five calamity days, lawmakers grapple with whether to let kids in affected districts off the hook. Otherwise, students typically spend often unproductive, makeup days in class, usually in early summer or on Saturdays.

State rules should dictate minimum hours. Period. No calamity days would be necessary, and schools needing to close for weather and other emergencies simply could extend the school day a few hours here and there until the lost time was made up.

That’s relatively painless and ensures that students stay in school each year until their job is done.

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