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Cuomo education panel recommends more school time for children

Karen DeWitt/WRVO

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s education commission recommends extending the school day and school year, as well as all day pre-kindergarten. But the governor says those ideas could be expensive.

Commission chairman and former Citigroup executive Dick Parsons says school days and the school year should be longer, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds should begin their education with all day pre-kindergarten.

Parson summed up the report’s underlying premise as: “Get them sooner, keep them longer and do more with them when you’ve got them.”

Cuomo called the ideas bold and exciting, but he cautions that there might not be enough money right now.

“Frankly, it’s going to be a question of money,” Cuomo said. “That’s something that we’re going to have to weigh when we look at the overall financial scene.”

The commission also recommends recruiting higher quality teachers and administrators, and says there should be the equivalent of a bar exam for those entering the profession. Cuomo says some of the ideas will be incorporated into his State of the State message.  
 

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.