"Every minute is an opportunity."
- Anonymous
INTRODUCTION
Each day educators, staff, students, families, and
community members at Pennington Elementary
School in Jeffco Public Schools face the exhausting
realities of poverty. Eighty-six percent of their 246
preK through sixth-grade students receive free and
reduced-price lunch, coming from homes where
there often is not enough food to last the month.
And many of these Wheat Ridge, Colo., students
struggle with homelessness. Others live in
single-parent homes or move frequently. Limited
resources not only lead to a torrent of anxiety for
Pennington’s students and families, but also
inevitably to a lack of opportunity.
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In 2012, under the direction of Principal Sandy
Craig, the community came together to brainstorm
and design solutions to address these challenges.
Their recommendation? Expand the school day.
Increasing the time students spend in school could
boost student achievement and growth; close the
opportunity gap; and harness the energy, talents,
and goodwill of the community to serve the needs
of the whole child.