The School Day Is Two Hours Shorter Than the Work Day. Kamala Harris Wants to Change That.

[brooklynite]

Mother Jones

The mismatch between the school day and work day presents a real burden to working Americans with families. And Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has a new bill that seeks to correct it.

The majority of schools days end around 3 p.m., two hours before the end of 70 percent of parents’ workdays. And most schools don’t have a way to make up the difference. Fewer than half of all elementary schools—and fewer than a third of low-income schools—offer after-school care. Beyond that misalignment, schools shut down, on average, for 29 days during the school year, the majority of which are reserved for professional development, parent-teacher conferences, and myriad vacations and minor holidays the federal government doesn’t recognize. That’s a full two weeks’ worth of days more than what the average American has in holidays, vacation, and paid leave combined. And then, of course, there’s summer vacation, a two- to three-month break that leaves working parents scrambling for day-long care.

I wrote about this phenomenon for the Atlantic last year, pointing to a series of disquieting statistics that Harris also raises in her bill, which the California senator is releasing on Wednesday. The school day and calendar is a bad deal for children: In the absence of a better alternative, 3 percent of elementary-school students and 19 percent of middle-school students look after themselves from 3 to 6 p.m. on school nights. But it’s an equally bad deal for working parents—and the economy as a whole. A family paying out of pocket to cover child care for those two hours between the end of the school and workday costs an average of $6,600 dollars per year, or nearly 10 percent of an average family’s income. Almost 40 percent of all workers lack access to any paid vacation time, which means parents will often have to scale back their workday to accommodate child care duties.

That burden typically falls to women, a million of whom work less than full-time in order to keep up with caregiving responsibilities for elementary school-aged children. This hardship is particularly pronounced for low-income mothers and mothers of color, who are the most likely to have unpredictable or inflexible work schedules. Experts estimate the United States loses $55 billion in productivity each year thanks to the public school calendar. “Seventy-five percent of mothers of school-age children are working, and we need to come to terms with this reality,” says Catherine Brown, a researcher at the liberal Center for American Progress whose findings informed much of Harris’ bill. “How could we reimagine school so it’s better for kids and better for families?”

[snowybirdie]

1. At first look

This seems a practical plan. But teachers will need be paid a lot more to work many more days and hours to coincide with business hours. They also spend a great deal of time in grading and preparation for classes. That's a heavy burden for our teaching professionals and taxpayers.

[customerserviceguy]

2. Maybe we bring back the concept

of "study hall". A couple of hours to do reading, complete assignments, and perhaps access computer study materials. No YouTube, no texting, no more BS screen time.