Anthony could be fourth on Revere’s extended day list

REVERE – School Superintendent Paul Dakin wants to couple private school-based after care programs with extended day learning throughout city schools.The list of schools proposing extended day programs includes the Whelan and McKinley Schools and Garfield Middle School.The Susan B. Anthony Middle School is taking steps to become the fourth extended day school. Anthony and the Whelan are located in the same building and are the city’s newest schools.Dakin said the Whelan and Garfield “are positioned very well” to receive state approval to extend their school days to 3:45 p.m.”Hopefully, the McKinley School, which is working on a fast-track grant, will receive the same benefit. As of now, it seems very solid,” Dakin told School Committee members in February.The state Department of Education began offering school districts $25,000 in 2005 to pay for local educators to plan and prepare for longer school days with the goal of helping students to “meet higher performance standards.”State officials instructed local educators to focus the added hours on English language and mathematics instruction as well tutoring and experimental learning.They also urged schools to set aside the additional time to provide more training for teachers. To date, most of the schools applying for extended day are located in Massachusetts cities. Teachers unions and administrators must negotiate compensation for the added work time.Dakin envisions other local elementary schools adopting extended day and using the time to offer music, art and physical education programs and provide homework time for students.”Extended Learning Time programs do not cost the city of Revere a penny. Our schools are funded entirely by the state for the 25 percent more time,” Dakin told committee members.He has proposed coupling extended day with after school programs by placing private after-school programs in all local schools.”Our goal is to have this after school program in every school so that children would not be bused to only the schools that have programs that go until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.”Dakin has also suggested bringing extended day to Revere High where he has proposed a “school within a school” for ninth graders. Ninth graders attending extended day would go to school for 10 additional days a year and an additional hour a day. The program would work to ease the transition from middle school to high school for freshmen.