Feds Give Hawaii schools $5.2M For Extra Class Time

By Star-Advertiser Staff

POSTED: 01:14 p.m. HST, Oct 28, 2010

Some $5.2 million in federal stimulus money will fund supplemental class time for students at public schools that have not met adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind law.

The “extended learning opportunities” add instructional time to the scheduled school day and/or add classes on Saturdays, semester breaks and summers.

The learning periods help students who need extra instruction or who miss classes and need to earn credits to graduate.

“These federal funds will provide additional support to students by giving them extra instructional time to help them in their coursework and improve their overall achievement, thereby improving the performance of our schools,” Gov. Linda Lingle said in a news release.

The state Department of Education will use $2.8 million to add up to two hours to classes at schools.

In addition, $2.4 million will be used to support intensive summer schools at middle and high school with a high number of students failing English, math and science classes.