>A couple years ago, the elementary school near my home declared Fridays as half days. The kids got out around 11:00 in the morning. If we add up the leftover time it is giving the kids (and teachers) an extra 20 days free.

Interesting. When my kids were in grade school, Wednesday was always early dismissal (1:05), but the other days were on the long side to make up for it, so the total school week was just about the same as elsewhere.

I'm surprised they dismiss at 11 because that means the kids aren't getting lunch. Generally, schools want to include lunch periods because of the federal school lunch program.

Tamar