Elementary school children in the Little Rock School District will start the school day earlier and end it later in the coming 2023-24 school year, the Little Rock School Board decided Thursday.
The board's decision also means that school days for middle schoolers and high school students will go later into the afternoon.
The elementary day will run from 7:40 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. daily, a change from the current 7:50 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. in place for most elementary schools. The middle and high school class days that generally begin at 8:45 a.m. for students will run 15 minutes longer to 4 p.m. next school year.
The School Board voted 9-0 in support of the extended school days that Superintendent Jermall Wright had said were necessary to provide more time for direct instruction of science and social studies in the elementary grades.
The extension of the high school day is to provide sufficient time for school buses to pick up and drop off elementary students before making second runs for the older students.
The newly approved plan is the result of a compromise negotiated by Wright's administrative team and the district's Personnel Policies Committee for licensed staff.
"We're not happy with everything in here, and I don't think Dr. Wright is happy with everything in here, but we did come to an agreement and we hope you support it," Theresa Knapp Gordon, a member of the Personnel Policies Committee, told board members in advance of their vote.