Schools add hours, weekends

GARY, Ind. (AP) - Indiana school districts are finding creative ways to add instructional time in an effort to close the achievement gap and shore up student test scores.

Some schools are adding hours to weekdays. The KIPP LEAD Academy in Gary even has students attend classes for four hours on some Saturdays and attend three weeks during the summer.
Proponents say the extra class time gives students more learning opportunities and reduces the loss of knowledge that often occurs during summer vacation.

President Barack Obama has urged U.S. schools to lengthen school days or shorten summer vacations to align the U.S. with countries that have longer school years. The average school year in the United States is 180 days, compared with 200 or more in other countries.

Information from: Post-Tribune, http://www.post-trib.com