PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Half-days are no more in Philadelphia schools.
"Kids just learn more when they're in school more,” said Superintendent Tony Watlington. He noted that kids are less likely to attend school when there's a half-day of classes for report card conferences or teacher training.
"We now have clear data over three-and-a-half years that when we have half days for professional development and the like, it lowers our overall student attendance."
That’s why on Thursday night, the school board voted to remove half-days from the rest of this school year and eliminate eight half-days from next year's school calendar.
Watlington said regular student attendance — defined as students in school 90% of the time — was 53% in January, but if you removed half-days, that figure rose to 70%.