A new charter school set to open later this year in the South Bronx section of New York City plans to offer classes 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Fox 5 New York reports that Strive Charter School will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, for 50 weeks a year.
School leaders say the model is designed to support working parents with nontraditional schedules and provide students with expanded learning time.
The school is backed by private donors and will serve students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Founders say the extended schedule aims to address the limited amount of time children typically spend in school compared with their overall waking hours.
Extended school days are not new, but adding weekends would be a first for New York and possibly the nation, according to school leaders.
The school intends to use overlapping teacher schedules, similar to staffing models in emergency rooms, to ensure continuity and prevent burnout among educators.
Strive plans to enroll 325 students in its first year and has a goal of eventually serving more than 540 students.
