Staffing shortage may hinder plan to extend school day

Persistent staffing shortages may complicate the state’s new initiative to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Under the state’s new Expanded Learning Opportunities program, school districts can add three hours to the school day, extend the school year a month and take other measures to help students catch up academically and improve their overall well-being. The program requires districts to prioritize students who are low-income, English learners or in foster care.

“It’s about time. I’m glad the state is stepping up here. It’s beyond welcome and it’s just the first step,” San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen told the Chronicle. “The fact is more kids were failing than succeeding in public school prior to the pandemic, the situation is much worse now.”

But many districts, including San Francisco Unified, have been stymied by staffing shortages and are considering partnering with community groups to provide tutoring, activities and other aspects of the new program.

“The most high leverage interventions typically are people-intensive, so if you can’t hire new staff … then you’re constrained in what you can do,” Troy Flint, spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, said.