All-day school schedules

wanderingbadger44 said:Well, look at your situation: you've only got the core required subjects. There isn't a single elective, no extra tutoring, no remedial help, and zero participation in clubs or after-school activities.

It feels like every kid follows this pattern because, based on your child's specific schedule, that's basically the entire world they inhabit.

On top of that, you're being rude by insulting me and implying I'm making things up while questioning everyone else's honesty. Honestly, your claims are just as questionable as the one you just critiqued.

If a student is taking religion, a second language, and computer lab in 7th and 8th grade, that's only an extra six hours a week. Where are all these supposed extra sessions and study groups coming from?

Mine has a second language, computer lab, and two after-school activities. The only thing that bugs him is that computer lab; they just hang around school until 3 PM doing absolutely nothing useful.

My daughter ended up dropping out too, mostly because they started teaching Python in 7th grade, and coding at that level just isn't her thing.
She actually loved working with Logo and micro:bit, but Python is way beyond what she’s interested in right now.
I honestly don't know how much longer she'd stick with school if they kept adding stuff like this to the curriculum.😂

rowdypanther12 said:My daughter ended up dropping out too, mostly because they started teaching Python in 7th grade, and coding at that level just isn't her thing.
She actually loved working with Logo and micro:bit, but Python is way beyond what she’s interested in right now.
I honestly don't know how much longer she'd stick with school if they kept adding stuff like this to the curriculum.😂

Python is being taught in 5th and 6th grade now, which is a pretty steep learning curve. My kids have a great computer science program and top-tier teachers. I doubt the curriculum will shrink anytime soon—since not everyone had access to these classes in the earlier grades, they're trying to close that gap. At least at my kids' school, only a handful of students were taking the electives.

My kid took a Python coding class back in fifth grade and he absolutely loved it.

Yeah, my daughter's classes just started at the end of June, and she wasn't really interested. It’s probably a shame because she was actually doing great, but it's just miles away from what she cares about

David Jackson2 said:Actually, not even close. This school is in worse shape than my old elementary school back in San Francisco—and we live in a decent neighborhood, so I can only imagine the disaster zones elsewhere. Teachers end up paying out of their own pockets just to kit out their classrooms (last year, our school had to run a fundraiser just to buy a rug for the kids to sit on this year 😬). There’s no AC, so when summer hits, it’s absolutely brutal, and classes run straight through the end of June. No cafeteria either; kids just bring lunch from home and eat right at their desks. They don't even have lockers—that's apparently reserved for high schoolers
.
There’s this pathetic little nutrition program where kids get one snack a day—think an apple or a granola bar—and parents basically volunteer their money to help cover the cost for families who are struggling. There is a gym, sure, but it has no showers and the equipment looks like it hasn't been touched since the 80s 😬. The library is actually okay, though. We don't send toilet paper or soap to the school, but teachers will ask if they need supplies for art class; we were actually the ones on deck last week to send in paper towels and homemade playdough for an art project. Also, textbooks aren't really a thing here, by the way. If the school needs something, they organize a fundraiser—selling T-shirts with the school logo and stuff like that. A huge chunk of how things function just depends on the local community
.

Okay, so it's pretty much like an American elementary school. From what I've heard through friends with kids in Canada, those schools seemed really well-equipped and modern. I guess there's probably a huge gap between private and public schools over there too, so you'd have better and worse public options depending on the province or city. But those places were basically full campuses with K-12 programs.

Anyway, I remember my old elementary school had built-in showers in the locker rooms, which probably worked way back when the school was new, maybe like the late 60s or early 70s. But by the mid-90s, they were totally run down.

Man, I can just imagine how brutal an all-day school would be in southern California. A building with no AC, nine months of school, the sun beating down outside... just a room full of sweating teenagers at 3:00 PM in 85-degree heat. 👎

wanderingbadger44 said:Well, look at your situation: you've only got the core required subjects. There isn't a single elective, no extra tutoring, no remedial help, and zero participation in clubs or after-school activities.

It feels like every kid follows this pattern because, based on your child's specific schedule, that's basically the entire world they inhabit.

On top of that, you're being rude by insulting me and implying I'm making things up while questioning everyone else's honesty. Honestly, your claims are just as questionable as the one you just critiqued.

If a student is taking religion, a second language, and computer lab in 7th and 8th grade, that's only an extra six hours a week. Where are all these supposed extra sessions and study groups coming from?

Here is my daughter's schedule, she's in 8th grade:
In the morning: four 6-hour blocks, one 5-hour block, plus a computer science block during the afternoon shift.
Afternoon: same thing, four 6-hour blocks, one 5-hour block, plus that computer science block in the afternoon.
The extra math tutoring was also scheduled for the afternoon, but she dropped out—it was just too much for her, I guess.
Tutoring sessions usually run for about 6 or 7 hours, which is essentially an extra period.
Then there's sports in the evening, maybe 5 or 6 times a week for about an hour and a half.

mellowskipper said:Here is my daughter's schedule, she's in 8th grade:
In the morning: four 6-hour blocks, one 5-hour block, plus a computer science block during the afternoon shift.
Afternoon: same thing, four 6-hour blocks, one 5-hour block, plus that computer science block in the afternoon.
The extra math tutoring was also scheduled for the afternoon, but she dropped out—it was just too much for her, I guess.
Tutoring sessions usually run for about 6 or 7 hours, which is essentially an extra period.
Then there's sports in the evening, maybe 5 or 6 times a week for about an hour and a half.

And if you factor in a second elective language, or joining the choir, volleyball, or an art club—how much more could you possibly add to that load?

If you ask me, it's way too much.

It’s like a runaway train; even the high achievers are drowning under four different advanced placements—parents are practically fighting over them or guilt-tripping them into staying enrolled—while the kids struggling with grades are stuck taking four remedial classes just to keep up, and everyone is constantly hovering over them, making them feel miserable if they miss a single session.

I’ve spent about three weeks trying to figure out how to skip that fourth elective without offending my professor or making things awkward.

driftingranger2 said:There’s zero chance that’s actually happening by 2027.
If they were serious, they’d be breaking ground on a mountain of new schools in major cities like Chicago or Houston right about now.

It isn't impossible, just totally unrealistic. Facebook claims they have $2 billion lined up, but with 619 schools needing upgrades or total rebuilds, you're looking at an average of over $3.2 million per school—and that doesn't even touch the other massive costs tied to a project this size.

Mark Walker4 said:It isn't impossible, just totally unrealistic. Facebook claims they have $2 billion lined up, but with 619 schools needing upgrades or total rebuilds, you're looking at an average of over $3.2 million per school—and that doesn't even touch the other massive costs tied to a project this size.

Plus, they'll need to find a massive amount of extra labor just to handle all that construction. Good luck to them.

driftingranger2 said:Plus, they'll need to find a massive amount of extra labor just to handle all that construction. Good luck to them.

Look, I’m saying it isn't impossible, but let's be real—it's not practical. It’s not just about having the cash and wanting to do it; a project this massive triggers a hundred other issues, and one big one is simply finding the people who actually know how to build it.

David Jackson2 said:Actually, not even close. This school is in worse shape than my old elementary school back in San Francisco—and we live in a decent neighborhood, so I can only imagine the disaster zones elsewhere. Teachers end up paying out of their own pockets just to kit out their classrooms (last year, our school had to run a fundraiser just to buy a rug for the kids to sit on this year 😬). There’s no AC, so when summer hits, it’s absolutely brutal, and classes run straight through the end of June. No cafeteria either; kids just bring lunch from home and eat right at their desks. They don't even have lockers—that's apparently reserved for high schoolers
.
There’s this pathetic little nutrition program where kids get one snack a day—think an apple or a granola bar—and parents basically volunteer their money to help cover the cost for families who are struggling. There is a gym, sure, but it has no showers and the equipment looks like it hasn't been touched since the 80s 😬. The library is actually okay, though. We don't send toilet paper or soap to the school, but teachers will ask if they need supplies for art class; we were actually the ones on deck last week to send in paper towels and homemade playdough for an art project. Also, textbooks aren't really a thing here, by the way. If the school needs something, they organize a fundraiser—selling T-shirts with the school logo and stuff like that. A huge chunk of how things function just depends on the local community
.

Are you on the East Coast or the West Coast?

Adam Diaz67 said:Okay, so it's pretty much like an American elementary school. From what I've heard through friends with kids in Canada, those schools seemed really well-equipped and modern. I guess there's probably a huge gap between private and public schools over there too, so you'd have better and worse public options depending on the province or city. But those places were basically full campuses with K-12 programs.

Anyway, I remember my old elementary school had built-in showers in the locker rooms, which probably worked way back when the school was new, maybe like the late 60s or early 70s. But by the mid-90s, they were totally run down.

Man, I can just imagine how brutal an all-day school would be in southern California. A building with no AC, nine months of school, the sun beating down outside... just a room full of sweating teenagers at 3:00 PM in 85-degree heat. 👎

The real question is how common it is for kids in Canada to attend public schools. And if it is, does that trend hold steady once they hit middle school? Is there a noticeable gap in academic performance between students coming out of public schools versus private ones (the affordable, middle-class type), similar to what you see in the United Kingdom? Canada generally sees very strong results on PISA testing.

Some people have already touched on this: to me, this all starts to look like a precursor to the privatization of education.

You don't even have to go all the way down to Southern California to be sweltering in September. Most of the coast and the inland areas are the same way. The heat starts creeping up pretty much right after Spring Break.

That's where the local elementary school used to be

Mark Walker4 said:It isn't impossible, just totally unrealistic. Facebook claims they have $2 billion lined up, but with 619 schools needing upgrades or total rebuilds, you're looking at an average of over $3.2 million per school—and that doesn't even touch the other massive costs tied to a project this size.

The real question is how many of them actually have their legal property rights and titles sorted out so they can even apply for a building permit? One of our local districts apparently just finished clearing up their paperwork recently, which is a total prerequisite for everything—whether we're talking about green energy initiatives, federal grants, or anything else...

Michelle Nelson4 said:The real question is how many of them actually have their legal property rights and titles sorted out so they can even apply for a building permit? One of our local districts apparently just finished clearing up their paperwork recently, which is a total prerequisite for everything—whether we're talking about green energy initiatives, federal grants, or anything else...

Plus, you've got schools that are actually decent enough that they aren't even allowed to expand. And there’s zero room in this neighborhood for a new campus. So instead, they'll just force us to use buses to shuttle kids to another district for full-day programs.😁

Joke aside... in NYC, a construction project like this wouldn't be finished for another 10 or 15 years.

For the first time, I'm actually glad my kid is at a school that doesn't meet basic standards...

One more thing—how on earth are they going to handle PE? If a school has 800 students split into two shifts (like 400 in the morning and 400 in the afternoon), you’d have all 800 kids on campus at once during the transition. Sure, the school day might run a little longer, but even then, there just isn't enough gym space. Unless they start doubling up classes for PE, which sounds like a recipe for chaos.

My eighth grader is at school almost every single day until 2:00 PM, and on one specific day, she stays until 3:00 PM. On top of that, she has her second language classes twice a week in the afternoon, even though she’s always on the morning schedule. Those sessions include all her extra study groups—chemistry, physics, and quite a few other subjects I can't even keep track of. Up until last year, their PE classes were actually scheduled during the opposite shift...

As for my fourth grader, whenever she's on the morning shift, they don't hold PE in the gym; instead, they head outside if the weather permits, or they just sit in the classroom. This is because the administration decided to let the fifth through eighth graders have their PE during their regular school hours rather than after the shift ends.

And honestly, why would she need a lunch break during those hours only to wait around until 3:00 or 4:00 PM, when she could just come home and eat then? Especially if she'd have to pack a lunch and carry it around all day—it just doesn't make any sense to me...

Trying to deal with the FBI's training programs is an entire saga on its own. Honestly, the conditions are pretty brutal most of the time—it’s basically just constant improvisation at this point.

If our local schools actually had even a third of the equipment they have over at a major university's athletic department, we might actually be getting somewhere.