HONOLULU | At a time when President Obama is pushing for more time in the classroom, his home state has created the nation’s shortest school year under a new union contract that closes schools on most Fridays for the remainder of the academic calendar.
The deal whacks 17 days from the school year for budget-cutting reasons and has education advocates incensed that Hawaii is drastically cutting the academic calendar at a time when it already ranks near the bottom in national educational achievement.
While many school districts have laid off or furloughed teachers, reduced pay and planning days and otherwise cut costs, Hawaii’s 171,000 public schools students now find themselves with 163 instructional days, compared with 180 in most districts in the United States.
“The 16-year-old in me is pretty excited that I’ll be able to chill on those days,” said Mark Aoki, a junior at Roosevelt High in Honolulu. “But overall within me, what I truly believe is that we’ll regret this.”
The cuts come as Mr. Obama, who graduated from a top private high school in Hawaii, says U.S. students are at a disadvantage with other students around the world because they spend too little time in school.
He wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let children in on weekends so they have a safe place to go. He declared recently that “the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom.”
The deal in Hawaii has parents and education authorities up in arms, including families now scrambling to find day care for the off days. Parents of special-needs students are considering suing the state, and advocates think the plan will have a “disparate impact” on poor families, ethnic communities and single parents.
“It’s just not enough time for the kids to learn,” said Valerie Sonoda, president of the Hawaii State Parent Teacher Student Association. “I’m getting hundreds of calls and e-mails. They all have the same underlying concern, and that is the educational hours of the kids.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.