RCSD Outlines Expanded School Day Plan

Will a longer day improve student success in the Rochester City School District?
 Administrators think so, and eventually hope to make it a practice district wide.
 They say increased success in school is directly connected to increased opportunities, and the key is a combination of traditional and non traditional learning.
 Schools 3, 9 10, 19, 23, 34, 45 and 46 are now planning for the longer day.
 District leaders made the announcement at a Superintendent's Conference on Tuesday.
 The program has been in the works for three years, as part of the state's requirements for school reform.
 It will include individualized academic time, as well as things like music,  language, counseling sessions and even cooking classes.
 "It's really about the kind of varied opportunities we offer," said Caterina Leone-Mannino. She's the Director of Expanded Learning. "This is not the you know, 'Sit at your desk, read out of a book, do a worksheet' kind of time. This is time for them to get engaged and learning and also follow and find something that they love."  
 Just how long the school day will be is still unknown. School number 9 and Northeast College Preparatory High School are already working on an extended schedule, and acting as a model for other schools to follow.
 Teachers will likely work on staggered schedules.
 If the planning period goes well, administrators hope the first round of schools will begin the expanded learning program in the fall of 2013.