The days of having some of the shortest class times in the state may be numbered for students in Prince George's County.
County Executive-Elect Rushern L. Baker III is endorsing longer school days. He told school officials Monday that he's going to look into funding extra class time for more than 150 schools if he has the support.
Elementary and middle school students would be effected. Their average school day is six hour and 15 minutes. Compare that to the state average of seven hours.
"We'd love to be able to add more time," said Prince George's Schools Superintendent William Hite Jr.
Hite believes a longer school day could boost physical education and foreign language studies, which have been shorted lately. Schools are focusing mainly on math, reading and writing to improve standardized test scores.
While a commitment to longer school days is welcomed, there's no telling how much money the county would have to shore up. Schools currenly receive $1.6 billion annually, which is more than half of the county's budget.
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