Jacob Hiatt school gets gift of time
Worcester Telegram
Jacqueline Reis
July 12, 2006
Jacob Hiatt Magnet School is one of 10 statewide whose students will have extra-long days this fall as a result of new state-funded expanded learning time grants, the state announced yesterday.
The school is the only one in Central Massachusetts to receive such a grant, but this won’t be the first time Jacob Hiatt has had an extended day program. The school was one of 10 in the city that had locally funded extended day programs until 2002, when the School Committee voted to close them because of budget cuts. At the time, Jacob Hiatt had had extended day programs for the 12 years since its founding.
The new expanded learning time program will add one hour and 48 minutes to the school day, unlike the old program, which added 45 minutes, according to outgoing Principal Anthony J. Caputo, who retired this summer. The schedule will run from 7:50 a.m. to 3:40 p.m., and even preschoolers will have a longer-than-average day, he said.
The school will use its extended time differently than it did before. Whereas educators essentially stretched out the academic day under the previous program, the new one emphasizes reading and writing, enrichment through community partnerships, and professional development for teachers. “It’s a much broader and more exciting addition to the school day,” Mr. Caputo said.
Jacob Hiatt’s $650,000 grant is part of $6.5 million in expanded learning day grants included in the recently approved budget. That’s far short of the $15 million the state Department of Education originally sought, but it means that every school that was approved by the state and had a labor agreement in place was funded, said Jennifer Davis, co-founder and president of the Massachusetts 2020 Foundation, which worked with the state Department of Education on the initiative. Even at $6.5 million, the grants are the largest new education initiative in the state budget, she said.
In Worcester, Jacob Hiatt teachers were involved in the grant application and will be compensated for their extra work time. Jacob Hiatt’s teachers were “virtually unanimous” in their support of the grant, according to Louis J. Cornacchioli, executive secretary of the teachers’ union.
Local and statewide supporters were thrilled with yesterday’s announcement. Thomas W. Heid, a local parent who worked on the proposal and whose son just graduated from Jacob Hiatt, said he was pleased to have the program back. “When they did have an extended day, the quality of education was incredible,” he said, citing more teacher preparation and class time as major factors. “I’m just happy that the children will be getting more.”
S. Paul Reville, executive director of The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, called extended learning time “the last frontier of education reform.” Ultimately, it makes sense to “have learning be the constant and let time vary to meet the needs of the learner” instead of the traditional system that sets the time limits and expects all students to learn within that allotted time, he said.
Whether the expanded learning time grants will eventually fall prey to budget constraints again remains to be seen, but Ms. Davis is optimistic. The Massachusetts 2020 Foundation is working to transition the grant into part of a formula or foundation budget, and she said there is growing recognition of the need for extra learning time. “You can’t just raise standards for kids and not give them the longer learning time to meet those standards,” she said.
The other cities that received expanded learning time grants are Boston, Cambridge, Fall River and Malden.
