Lexington area students are spending a little more time at school this week. Public schools in Fayette County are extending the school day by 30 minutes to make up for missed instruction time due to wintry weather. Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm says 177 days of strong instructional focus are required. "It's not only an obligation, I think it's what we desire,” said Helm. “As educators, you want to make sure that you are giving your students a full instructional year."
Helm says seven missed days are being made up by adding 30 minutes to each school day between now and the end of the May. The veteran education administrator says the importance of making up missed class time goes beyond end of year testing requirements. She says it's needed to cover material in anticipation of next year's class work.
Helm says individual schools are using various methods to meet the extra 30 minute requirement. "At the elementary level they're being very creative at doing it in different ways and having different focus,” said Helm. “Maybe one week it's an extra focus on reading and the next week it's an extra 30 minutes on math. And then, perhaps, they go back to reading."
The last instructional day in Fayette County is Friday, May 29th.
