Extending The School Year

Tuesday, October 2nd 2007, 2:31 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett says extending the school year will improve the academic performance of Oklahoma schools but says it will be expensive. Garrett is recommending adding five days to the school calendar, which is currently 175 days a year. She says a ballpark estimate is that each extra day of school would cost $16 million to $20 million. That would mean increasing the school year by five days would cost $80 million to $120 million.

Garrett appeared Tuesday before the state House Education Committee as it studies extending the school year.

Garrett says the national average is a 180-day school year.

She says Oklahoma school districts that have increased the amount of school days on their own have experienced better student performance.