The Utica City School District will have extended time to contemplate a grant that would enable the district to extend the school day for five area schools.

Therefore, the school day for students will not be extended during the 2014-2015 school year.  If an extension is approved, it would be effective for the 2015-2016 academic calendar.

Superintendent Bruce Karam says the district was presented with three options, the third of which appeared to be most viable to officials.  It means that the UCSD will be able to delay acceptance of the grant until July of 2015 and still be eligible for two full years of funding under the Extended Learning Time Grant.

Utica CIty School Board President Christopher Salatino spoke with WIBX on July 10, 2014 and said that the district had applied for an extension to consider the merits and how to best implement the grant.

Photo Credit: Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
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Karam says, now that their petition for an extension was successful, the next step is to hold informational sessions with those directly involved, i.e. parents, students, and teachers, at the five schools potentially impacted by the grant.  "We want to make sure that we have the full support, and cooperation, of all the stakeholder groups...because in order for a program to succeed like this - and we want it to succeed - we need the cooperation and full support."  Following those meetings, he added, a decision will be made whether or not to accept the grant.

Our complete interview with Karam is below:

Original Story:

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