FORT LAUDERDALE — The Broward County School Board has approved revisions to the opening and closing school times for the 2013/14 school year.
Information on specific school opening and closing times is available at the district’s website, browardschools.com, or by calling the school or the district’s main number, 754-321-0000.
The school opening and closing revisions for the 2013/14 year are to meet state requirements for extending instructional time beyond the normal school day, officials said.
The requirement applies to schools identified as being among the “100 Lowest Performing Elementary Schools” in the state based on 2013 FCAT 2.0 Reading results.
Officials emphasized that schools are scheduled to open and close at times that will best utilize existing resources to provide transportation services and accommodate student and program growth, such as staggered bell times to minimize operational costs.
This year, 11 Broward County public schools are required to extend their school day by one hour to provide additional intensive reading instruction and enrichment activities.
The changes to opening and closing times for the 2013/14 school year also include five schools that, based on improvements in their reading scores on the 2013 FCAT 2.0, are no longer required to extend their school day beyond regular hours.
Among the schools receiving extended instructional time this school year are Broward Estates Elementary, Charles Drew Elementary, Deerfield Park Elementary, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Larkdale Elementary, North Side Elementary, Riverland Elementary, Rock Island Elementary, Royal Palm Elementary School, Tedder Elementary and Westwood Heights Elementary.
The schools making improvements in FCAT Reading Scores and no longer required to extend instructional time in 2013/14 (compared to 2012/13) are Cypress Elementary, Dillard Elementary, Markham Elementary, Park Ridge Elementary and Plantation Elementary.
While Dillard Elementary is no longer required to extend its school day a full hour, as one of the district’s schools participating in a federal School Improvement Grant (SIG), Dillard Elementary will have an extended school day of 30 minutes in 2013/14.
Robert Runcie is superintendent of the Broward School District. The Broward School District is the sixth largest public school system in the United States and second largest in Florida.
• Picture above Robert Runcie
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