|
CMSD to restore K-8 school day
Effective January 22, 2013, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will restore the full school day for students in all K-8 schools. CEO Eric Gordon told Board members at the December 4 board meeting the district’s ability to add 50 minutes to the school day in January was due to passage of the November 6 levy.
|
|
|
“Thanks to the generosity of the people of Cleveland, we can restore programs, return 50 minutes to the school day and develop a much-needed plan for math and reading intervention,” said Gordon.
Passage of Issue 107, a four-year, 15-mill operating levy, was Cleveland’s first vote of confidence in its public schools in 16 years. The CEO told the board that approximately $6.8 million tax dollars would be used to restore the lost instructional time, a 50-minute cut to the start and end of the school day that was a priority issue for many families.
At the first meeting of the Board of Education following the November 6 election, the board took action to return 50 minutes to the school day, setting in motion three immediate goals for CMSD: (1) to restore the full school day in all K-8 schools; (2) to increase exposure to art, music and physical education in as many schools as possible, and (3) to add reading, mathematics and science intervention where determined.
This week, new start and end times for K-8 schools will be posted on the District website and distributed through numerous communication channels. During the month of December, the district will focus on rescheduling students, staffing additional classes, re-routing bus transportation, adjusting breakfast and lunch serving times and informing families of upcoming changes, the CEO said.
In early January, the district will engage in practice runs of the new transportation routes and will inform families of the finalized transportation schedule. Restoration of the full school day will take effect on Tuesday, January 22, 2013, when students return to school from the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.
|
