Reaction mixed to Chicago plan for extending instructional time at struggling schools

From The Chicago Sun-Times: Some parents and local school council members say there is much to like about the Chicago Public Schools' proposal for a pilot eight-hour day at 100 struggling elementary schools. The "Extended School Day Initiative" would provide half of the schools with two hours of computerized classes in math and reading at the end of the normal school day and the other half with two hours before school starts.But some educators said the plan won't work. Unionized teachers slammed the proposal, which the district says would use computers, software and non-teachers to supervise the extra two hours.

From The Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago public school officials are working on a plan to bring an eight-hour school day to up to 100 struggling schools by using a combination of laptop computers, instructional software and non-teachers. Under one form of the "Extended School Day Initiative," half of all first- through eighth-graders in the selected schools would attend computerized classes in math and reading for two hours at the end of the day, and half would attend them before regular classes start.