Charter Schools Look to Gain From City’s Longer School Day Incentives
Chicago charter schools are hoping to cash in on the incentives Mayor Rahm Emanuel has offered to city elementary schools that break from the teachers union and vote to lengthen the school day.
As part of Emanuel’s effort to quickly implement a longer school day, Chicago Public Schools has dangled up to $150,000 in discretionary funds and a roughly 2 percent raise for teachers at schools that elect to waive a portion of the union contract and add 90 minutes to the day. So far, four elementary schools have taken CPS up on the offer.
Now advocates for charter schools, many of which already have a longer school day, are calling on the district to offer them a similar deal.
“We’ve got some schools that have seven-and-a-half or eight-hour school days already,” said Andrew
