Brizard, Teachers Union President Discuss Longer School Day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Jean-Claude Brizard and Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis met Tuesday to discuss, among other topics, plans to lengthen the school day.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Marsett reports, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and school officials still want to lengthen the school day in some fashion during the present school year, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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In 10 of the 15 largest U.S. cities, the school days are longer than those in Chicago, the Tribune reported.
But Lewis has called for a "better" school day instead of a longer one, and the union is disputing the claims about the benefits, the Tribune reported.
Mayor Emanuel has been pushing for a longer school day since before he took office.
"You cannot get to where we need to be on education if it's the shortest school day and school year in the country, which is why all of us are pushing for that type of reform to take hold this year," Emanuel said last week.
Most parents have come out in support of the proposal, but the mayor and CPS officials had yet to talk to teachers about the subject as recently as last week.
