Coalition Calls For Longer School Days In Poorer Mass. Districts

A new coalition of teachers, school officials and state officials is calling for longer school days in poor Massachusetts districts.

The Time To Succeed coalition says students in classrooms with longer days do better in school, and it says the longer days are especially needed in the state's 175 high-poverty urban middle schools.

"Middle grades is really where kids have to hit a fork in the road," said the group's chairman, Chris Gabrieli. "Some students get serious about their academics, start to engage in outside activities, extracurriculars and so forth, and others begin to drift away."

The coalition includes several teachers unions, including the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Boston Teachers Union.

Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union, joined WBUR Tuesday to discuss.