School day extended for Meriden students

MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- The school day for thousands of public school students is about to get longer.
 
A handful of schools in five states are part of a pilot program to try to boost learning by adding 300 hours to the school year.

Connecticut is one of those states. 

This year, the kids at Meriden's Pulaski Elementary started getting there a lot earlier in the morning.

"What time do you usually get to school every day," asked News 8's Kent Pierce.

"7:15," said 3rd grader Aaliyah Rivera.

"And what time did you get to school last year," asked Pierce.

"8:15," Aaliyah said.

They call it extended mornings, an extra 90 or so minutes every morning to eat breakfast, exercise in the gym, and learn a few things, too.

"This is not just more of the same of what the children do throughout their regular school day," said Bob Angeli, Meriden Schools Assistant Superintendent. "These are different types of activities that really get the day going in a very positive way."

And soon more and more schools will be doing exactly what they're doing at Pulaski. There was an announcement Monday that Connecticut is one of five states taking part in the pilot program, so other schools in Meriden, as well as in East Hartford and New London are going to be doing this.

The idea is to close the gap between rich and not-so-rich school districts and make U.S. students more competitive with kids from other nations.

"We want them to be competitive not just with their peers here in Connecticut, but we want them to be competitive on a global scale," said Angeli.

And if you think students and teachers are griping about the extra hours, well the teachers at Pulaski pushed for the extended day, and the students actually enjoy it.

"You like spending more time in school," asked Pierce.

"Yes," Aaliyah said.

"Does that seem weird to you," asked Pierce.

"Kinda," Aaliyah said.

"But it's still fun?"

"Yeah."

Which is why Meriden plans to extend the days at two other elementary schools starting next year.