California Schools Consider Adding Extra Days to School Year

SOPHIA HUA (Editor in Chief)

A few Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board members have recently expressed support for adding ten additional days to the school year as long as there are sufficient resources and support from teacher unions. 

According to EdSource, these ten extra days are meant to help give students, especially younger ones, additional time to build on important foundational skills such as reading and math, support for coping with the difficult circumstances created by the pandemic and interactive lessons to rekindle their joy for learning. 

“We’re already naturally constricted because of online learning, making it harder for teachers to actually teach their lessons or give proper guidance the way they would’ve before,” senior Nathan Barajas said. “A lot of school interaction is already robbed from us all because of the pandemic, so it would make sense to extend it.”

This increase in school days has also been discussed at a California Department of Education meeting. Currently, the department requires 180 school days every year, but the transition to distance learning has prompted educators to consider making adjustments in order to meet standards for state testing and give students more instructional time. 

“Sometimes the teachers have to skip over some fun activities in class because they don’t have that extra bit of time to flush out their lessons,” senior Brennon Sherman said. “For example, my government teacher had to get rid of a mock trial or debate because he had to choose between that or preparing us for the next lesson.” 

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, while an increase in educational time often leads to an increase in student achievement, factors such as the quality of instruction and classroom environment are much more impactful than just an increase in time spent in class. 

“We have spent all year in distance learning and we have been trying our best in school,” senior Noah Alejo said. “[An extension of the school year] shouldn’t happen.” 

Since the addition of ten days to the California school year is still being debated, the likelihood of its occurrence remains uncertain.