By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Public Schools will lengthen the school day next year in 51 of 61 elementaries in an attempt to improve the district's poor student achievement, officials said Friday.

In nearly half of those schools, the day will increase a half-hour, adding 18 school days to an academic year in those buildings. Other schools will increase their day by between 10 and 25 minutes.

Changes are planned for some high schools, too.

Some schools will adjust their times to start earlier, others will end the day later.

Though the union doesn't oppose lengthening the school day, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers filed a grievance last week. President Sue Taylor said the changes violate the teachers' contract and were made without input from parents and teachers.

District officials say the additional time is allowed under the contract, which requires teachers to work no more than seven-hour days, including a 30-minute lunch break. They added that the longer days won't add up to more than that for teachers.

District officials said the extended day is necessary in the 38,800-student district, which is labeled in "academic emergency" by the state.

District officials said they analyzed the school day in 25 districts, finding most had days longer than Cincinnati's six hours. The added time won't cost any extra money, they said.

"The bottom line is we thought this was right for kids," said Assistant Superintendent William Myles.

Taylor said the contract mandates that a school's instructional leadership team, made up of teachers, administrators, parents and staff, must decide length of school days.

"This is another example of a unilateral decision," she said. "While it has the best of intentions, it flies in the face of input by representative constituent groups."

Taylor said she worries teachers will lose planning time and will have to juggle child care.

"We're not at all opposed to lengthening the school day," Taylor said. "We're opposed to the way this was done. It was an edict . . . from on high."

Taylor said the union's representative raised the idea of adding to the school day during recent negotiations, which stalled after the board rejected a tentative contract in March. A fact-finder will rule on the contract next month.

E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com