Pender County Schools address reasons behind proposal of school days expansion

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY)– Pender County Schools has released its proposed calendars for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 calendar years, which includes expanding the number of days students will attend school.  

Dr. Brad Breedlove, Superintendent of Pender County Schools, released a statement Friday afternoon addressing doubts that he says have been raised about the proposal.  

Breedlove said some believe that increasing the number of school days may not necessarily result in more instructional hours, which is a misleading assumption.  

He says the rationale behind the modification is to adhere to the minimal instructional hours required by North Carolina, which is 1,025 hours. To achieve this within the constraints of the new model, the number of instructional days for students had to be extended.  

“Calculating the instructional time, a calendar with 169 days, as seen in the December testing calendar Draft #4, would result in 1,056.25 hours,” Breedlove said. “In contrast, the January testing Draft #2 calendar, with 175 instructional days, would provide 1,093.75 hours—nearly 40 hours more of instructional time.”

Breedlove said that this extra time is particularly beneficial for the elementary and middle school students, offering approximately 40 more hours of core instruction and six extra days of engagement with qualified teachers, counselors, and a supportive staff.

Click here to read the full release on the details of the proposed expansion.