Elgin-based District U-46 will be extending its elementary school day by 20 minutes in the 2025-26 academic year, according to an email sent to parents this week.
Class days will start 10 minutes earlier and end 10 minutes later than they currently do when the fall session begins Monday, Aug. 11, the email said.
Under the schedule change, half of the district’s 38 elementary schools will begin their day at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2:10 p.m. while the other half will start at 8:20 a.m. and end at 2:40 p.m.
The change is being made because U-46 — the state’s largest school district outside of Chicago — currently has the shortest elementary school day of all districts in Illinois, the email said.
“Extending the elementary school day by 20 minutes will allow us to offer increased high-quality instruction and improve student learning — providing an additional 100 minutes of instruction per week and approximately 60 hours per school year,” the memo said.
At Monday night’s School Board meeting, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Lela Majstorovic said the adjustment is addressed in the four-year collective bargaining agreement approved by the district and the Elgin Teachers Association in February 2024.
The additional time will give students access to special classes, including art, music, physical education, science, health and digital literacy, officials said.
But it also means that students next year will have earlier bus pick-up times in the morning and later drop-off times in the afternoon. The district plans to have the transportation schedules available online via its Infinite Campus system in August, the email said.
More details and information will be shared directly by each elementary school over the coming months, the message said.
In the meantime, available information is posted online at www.u-46.org/Page/20706. To offer feedback or ask questions, go to Let’s Talk, which can be accessed from the site.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
