Beginning February 3, Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) will extend the school day for elementary students by 15 minutes.
HCPS Superintendent Michael Richards explained that while middle and high schools already have longer days, recent weather-related closures and delays have caused elementary school hours to fall below the state’s minimum requirement of 990 hours.
The decision was approved during the school board’s Thursday work session as a way to make up for lost instructional time due to weather.
“To meet the 990-hour requirement and allow some flexibility for potential future closures, we’re temporarily adding 15 minutes to each school day,” Richards wrote in an email to WHSV.
