Coming Soon To A School Near You: DC Mayor Announces Extended School Year
Written By, Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President
Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own. Before it was officially announced, The Washington Teacher blog was the first to break the report of DC Public Schools plans to extend the school year on Thursday, January 28, 2016 in SE middle schools. Click on The Washington Teacher in red to see details of my story: The Washington TeacherNow there is official confirmation of DCPS' plans. According to the Mayor's public schedule- Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chancellor Kaya Henderson will announce their extended school year at several DC Public Schools for the 2016-17 school year at 11 am. Others in attendance include: Council member David Grosso, Committee on Education Chair, Charlotte Butler, Principal of Hart Middle School, and Natalie Hubbard, Principal of Raymond Education Campus. The event will be held at Hart Middle School which is located at 601 Mississippi Avenue, SE.According to the press release, this event is being held during Education week in a "week-long effort to highlight how the District is accelerating the pace of school reform and creating pathways to the middle class for District residents." The reasons given in Mayor Bowser's press release for extending the school year point to un-named research which states that "time away from school during the summer contributes to the achievement gap. Providing more time for instruction not only increases time for reading and math, it also provides students more time to explore art, music, foreign language, and other interests. School districts across the country that have The Washington Teacher: Coming Soon To A School Near You: DC Mayor Announces Extended School Year: