The school day for elementary school students in Williamsburg and James City County is about to get a little longer.
Because of time missed due to the snowstorms in the past two weeks, five minutes are being added to each day beginning Feb. 10. In addition, recess will be shortened to 15 minutes and two previous half days — March 12 and June 12 — will now be full days. No makeup time is required for middle and high schools.
Williamsburg-James City County Spokesperson Betsy Overkamp-Smith said recess is typically between 20 to 30 minutes depending on the school. D.J. Montague, James River and Stonehouse start at 8:35 a.m. and will go to 3:10 p.m. while Clara Byrd Baker, J. Blaine Blayton, Rawls Byrd, Matoaka, Norge and Matthew Whaley will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:55 p.m.
The extra time is necessary for there to be 990 hours of state-mandated instructional time.
If any additional time is missed, the school calendar will be adjusted for all grades, with the first make-up day falling on Presidents Day, which is Feb. 17. The second makeup day would be April 21.
Students in the York County School Division will attend school on Presidents Day to makeup for the snow.