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Schools in five states plan to add up to 300 hours of study time into their calendars from 2013.

The pilot program takes in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.

Every state and every school district is different when it comes to providing the best education for students.  A lot of it depends on the size of the district, class sizes and teacher quality.  Columbia Public School administrators have some additional programs that give more class time to students if they want it.

Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said, “We actually have a number of programs including our summer school program that we offer in order to extend the hours that we are already providing as required by law.  That really does take us to a point where kids can almost be in school year round with our summer program.”

The Columbia Public School summer school program has an average of 8,000 to 9,000 students every year.  Students can also take advantage of additional programs during the school year.

Baumstark said, “We’ve been offering other activities such as our Snow Club when we have snow days.  We have a Spring Break School that we piloted this past year.  We like to provide other opportunities for those kids who need extra instructional time in our buildings.”

Jefferson City Public School spokesman David Luther said his district’s students take advantage of summer school as well as before and after school programs.  However, local school administrators do not see additional mandatory study time at Missouri public schools anytime soon.

Columbia’s Heritage Academy has a shorter amount of class time where students attend classes on campus one to three days a week.

According to the school’s website, students become more successful because of a high level of parental involvement.