Clearing Up the Confusion – The Utica City School District’s Extended Day

School officials are working to clear up confusion surrounding the extended school day for some students in the Utica City School District.

On the question of whether the extended school day will be mandatory or voluntary School Board President Christopher Salatino says other schools in New York are instituting this as a mandatory program.  He says they are still examining the requirements of the grant.  Answer: They just do not know right now.

Utica City School District Superintendent Bruce Karam says that, since learning of the grant just one day ago, they have convened a panel to go through each and every facet of the grant to make certain that the results of accepting the grant and implementing the Extended Learning Time program best benefit the children of the Utica City School District.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi says that the program is a positive one, and is needed by the Utica City School District.  Although he says the district is "excellent," the former member of the Utica School Board agrees that the sheer number of high needs students in the UCSD make this grant particularly useful to residents.

Video of our interview on WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning is below.  A full written synopsis will be posted by 4:30pm today.  You can hear the isolated audio in Show Notes from WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning.

One caller to the show, "LeRoy," also had this to say on our Facebook page:

Here is the original story:

Five Utica Schools Going 9 to 5 Beginning in September