Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony Watlington and Mayor Cherelle Parker are taking the next steps in the vision of having year-round schooling, writes Mike DeNardo for KYW Newsradio.

Watlington announced during the recent school budget hearings in City Council that 20 schools are being selected for a pilot of year-round classes starting this fall.

The 20 schools would see expanded days with after-school programs, such as chess and robotics. 

The superintendent highlighted those programs extend reading, math, and science in a fun and engaging way.

“We’ll be working closely with parents to extend the district calendar for those 20 pilot schools, where they actually start school before the other schools in the district,” Watlington said. 

He will also work with the mayor and the school unions to develop a year-round schedule that would begin in the 2025-26 school year. 

The 20 schools, which has not yet been identified, would have breaks throughout the year instead of one long summer recess.

“We eliminate the long break in the summer, but they’ll get breaks during the year, so they won’t go to school 365 or 300 days a year. They’ll have holidays and they’ll have small breaks built in,” Watlington said. 

Read more about the year-round school pilot program coming to Philadelphia schools in KYW Newsradio.

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