District boss favors longer school day & school year

In his State of the State address this month, Governor Heineman called for Nebraska’s public schools to change their old ways and consider expanding the school day and the school year. Randy Anderson, superintendent of the Crofton and Hartington school districts, says the governor is on the right track.
Anderson says we’ve been on a calendar that dates way back into history as to how students should spend their time and he thinks it would be more beneficial to have a longer school year.
He says the main obstacle to a longer school year is, as always, money. Anderson says a longer school year would mean a host of new or increased expenses, including longer teacher contracts, more transportation and more curriculum items.
While most people agree that more education is needed, Anderson says it would take some time to gauge the payback. He says you won’t be able to view the results right away as students would first have to get through the system and get into the workforce and see how they perform.
Governor Heineman says the current challenges facing the state need a highly educated workforce and that’s why he’s suggesting a longer school day and year.
Thanks to Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton