Anchorage students and parents react to 30 extra minutes added to school days

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Starting Monday, school days in the Anchorage School District will get a little longer.

After missing days of classes in December due to heavy snowfall, the Anchorage School District School Board decided to add an extra 30 minutes to each school day until March 9 for all grade levels.

“I think it’s good because we have more school and it will make up for the snow days,” Denali Montessori Elementary student Jedidiah Antonio said. “I missed school on the snow days.”

However, there are some mixed feelings about the new change.

“You get to learn lots of new things,” Inlet View Elementary Rai Bosin said.

Additionally, Feb. 22, 23, and 24 will now be full days of instruction to help make up for time lost to snow days.

“I like going to school, but I think that we should do something instead of a bunch of school work, like on some days I think we should do something fun after school,” said Greer Collins of Trailside Elementary.

Although Jedi, Rai, and Greer remain optimistic about the schedule change, some students who did not want to be on camera did not support the time change.

“I appreciate that they’re trying to make that time up and I think it will help kids,” said Bjorn Bjartmarsson, a parent of three students in the Anchorage School District.

Bjartmarsson said that especially for students that may be behind in different subjects, the added time may be a positive. As a parent of three students, there are multiple activities after school that Bjartmarsson and his family have to plan for.

“They have piano lessons at five o’clock, so my junior high kid, he has cross-country skiing and that will be half an hour later so we might need to make some accommodations there,” Bjartmarsson said.

The added 30 minutes could actually be more convenient for parents who work later and who put their children to daycare after school. Others say it won’t impact their after-school activities at all.

“I have some but they’re all at nighttime,” Collins said.

The schedule adjustments will make up a total of five days for elementary and middle school students and four and a half days for high school students.

“I won’t miss anything,” Antonio said. “Yeah, I won’t miss anything.”

Some said that the students might not even be able to tell that extra time is added to the end of the school day.

Greer Collins said that she will certainly be able to tell that she is in class for an extra 30 minutes.

“Yeah, because I get hungry really easy,” Collins said.

Bus pick-up times will also be pushed back 30 minutes as well.

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