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GOVERNOR PATRICK VISITS BOWE SCHOOL

                                                                                        ARTICLE IN THE REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER...


By HOLLY ANGELO
hangelo@repub.com

CHICOPEE - Gov. Deval L. Patrick came to Patrick E. Bowe School today to see how well the school's first year of the Expanded Learning Time Initiative is going.

The governor is proposing to double the funding, to $26 million, for the two-year-old program in his fiscal year 2009 budget, which begins July 1. At Bowe, the governor visited a first-grade math class, a third-grade writing class and a second-grade tae kwon do class.

"I just wanted to come by and tell you how proud I am," the governor told the tae kwon do pupils, dressed in white robes. "You guys are great. I hope this program is as important to you as it seems."

With a hearty "Yes sir!" as a reply, the governor soon left the gym and headed upstairs to the library to give some brief statements about his proposed education spending plan. Patrick is proposing $3.9 billion in school aid to cities and towns, which represents a $223 million, or 6 percent, increase.

This will be the second year Patrick is proposing doubling the state's Expanded Learning Time Initiative. In September, Bowe joined a group of schools in the state participating in the program by adding 90 minutes to its school day. Students now arrive at 8 a.m. and leave at 3:40 p.m.

The extended day was made possible through a $564,200 grant from the state Department of Education. School Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said the school has been promised a matching grant to continue the program for the 2008-2009 school year.

The extended day has allowed the staff to add time to learning and offering enrichment programs, such as tae kwon. An art teacher was also hired this year. Pupils now take 75-minute math classes, instead of 45- to 60-minute math classes.

"There are very good things going on in this school, and I want to call attention to that," said Patrick, who was flanked by the mayor and several aldermen, School Committee members, school administrators and legislators. "There are reasons to make investments on the front end of a child's development so we avoid costs at the back end."

So far, the state has spent a total of $19.5 million implementing the extended day. Also in Western Massachusetts, the Newton School and Middle School in Greenfield are participating in the program.

Rege said the school system wants to add other schools to the program, but is waiting to review data, such as test scores, to determine which schools would most benefit from an extended day.

"It's only been one semester, per se, but we can definitely say the parents have been extremely supportive and students have adjusted," Bowe principal Samuel A. Karlin said. "It's not just an expanded day. It's a redesign of the day."

Patrick has had a full schedule in Western Massachusetts this week. On Wednesday, he met with the editorial board of The Republican, held a press conference at his office in Springfield, campaigned for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a presidential candidate, at American International College, and then headlined a fund-raiser for state Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr., D-Springfield, at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I ran to be governor of the whole state," Patrick said. "I spend as much time as I can around the state.