This coming August students attending Lehigh Acres Middle School will now be attending school from 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., an extra 30 minutes.
The approval to extend the school day was unanimous during the school board’s June 22 meeting.
Linda Maere, Executive Director of School Development, said schools were provided an opportunity to extend the school day based on the percent of district lowest 25 percent in reading and math. In addition 80 percent of the staff must vote in favor of extending the day.
“The goal is to strategically target learning gaps during the extra time at the end of the day,” she said. “Schools will use the extra time for intervention and enrichment to increase student achievement and target the unique learning gaps for each student.”
The cost of the extra 30 minutes is $377,845, which will be to cover staffing for that extra 30 minutes. The funds will be taken out of ESSER to pay staff their hourly rate.