Lynn schools working together on extended day

LYNN-With the buzz created from the 2006 MCAS results beginning to subside, the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) has once again turned its attention to promoting extended learning time across the state.But with a summit featuring several high-ranking state officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick, on the horizon, Superintendent Nicholas Kostan says the district must focus on the task at hand, aiding the three city schools that are hoping to secure funding for future extended learning programs.Earlier this month, the DOE announced it had awarded a $9,000 planning grant to the district to be split between the Ingalls, Connery and Ford schools. All three schools must develop an individual proposal explaining a curriculum and outline for the extended learning time program, which will be submitted to the DOE early in 2008.The DOE will then decide which schools, if any, will receive a grant to implement the program in 2008 or 2009.Kostan said the three schools will work individually to develop their own proposals, and keep in close contact with the school administration throughout the process.The summit, taking place Friday on the University of Massachusetts Boston campus, is hosted by the DOE and the Massachusetts 2020 Foundation, an educational advocacy group founded by former Gubernatorial candidate Chris Gabrieli. The foundation has focused on promoting and expanding after school and summer program opportunities, along with extended learning time programs across the state.Patrick will join Gabrieli, Commissioner of Education Jeffery Nellhaus, Massachusetts Board of Education Chair Paul Revilee, State Rep. and Joint Committee on Education Co- Chair Patricia Haddad and former Colorado Governor and Los Angeles School District Superintendent Roy Romer as guest speakers, addressing the importance of the extended learning time initiative and analyzing the key issues facing the movement.The summit will also address the hot topic of what to do with the added learning time, focusing on including reading, writing and reading aloud into the schedule every day, along with professional development and collaborative planning.For a district such as Lynn, which has been closely involved with the extended learning initiative for several years, the summit is not a must-attend event, but Kostan said the individual schools seeking funding are welcome to send representatives to the summit, even if the administrative office chooses to pass on the offer.”There are a lot of these (summits) that go on throughout the year, so it is tough to attend all of them, but the individual schools involved may send someone,” he said. “The important thing for us is for our group to sit down and work toward getting the proposals together.”Although extended learning time is seemingly the wave of the future for education in Massachusetts, it is not without critics. Many feel the DOE grants to fund the upstart programs are hollow, and will bury the district in debt after the first-year grant expires.Unions have also balked at the potential schedule changes, which caused the city to lose over $2 million for the Ford school to implement a program this January, after the teacher’s union could not come to terms with the School Department on a revised contract.Despite these issues, the state has already funded the program in 18 schools statewide, and says another 100 schools are planning to implement the program in the next two years.