CSD’s Communications Director Bruce Roaden was good enough to respond to me, answering two of your main questions from the other thread in more detail.

One, why precisely is the school day being extended?  And two, how will this time be used potentially?  He also includes a few other facts to consider.  Without further ado…

Principals and Instructional personnel have felt for some time now that there is not enough time in the school day for elementary students. For example, after consulting 40 or more elementary schools in Metro Atlanta, we discovered that 6.5 hours (the school day for our K-3 students) is the shortest day for elementary students in Metro Atlanta.

Also, City Schools of Decatur is one of a very few remaining (if not the only) school district in the state that has a second language taught to our elementary students every school day. Another important issue that many members of our community have brought to the attention of the Superintendent and the Board of Education is the issue of wanting more unstructured breaks (recess) for students. It is very difficult to add this kind of activity without extending the length of the school day.

If it is decided to extend the school day, there will no increase in the personnel budget.

This decision is not based on the fact that we use DeKalb County School buses. DeKalb has given us our own fleet of buses to use, so we are not tied to the start and end times of DeKalb’s schools.

We appreciate the input we’re getting on this issue from your blog as well as emails and phone calls. Naturally, the Superintendent and her staff will consider this feedback and continue to look into this issue in order to make decisions that are in the best interest of all students and their families.