Incoming county executive supports longer school days for younger Prince George’s County students

Miranda S. Spivack

Prince George’s County Executive-elect Rushern L. Baker III endorsed longer school days for the county’s elementary and middle school students, who now have among the shortest instruction times in the state.
“You extend the days, we will talk about [funding] it,” Baker told a gathering of school officials and incoming County Council members at Prince George’s Community College Monday. “As a parent, I support this.”
The average school day in Maryland is seven hours for elementary and middle schools, State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick said. In Prince George’s, the school day is six hours and 15 minutes.
Neither Baker nor any of the officials estimated the cost of extending the school day in the county’s 131 elementary schools, 29 middle schools and sevencombined elementary-middle schools.