President Barack Obama announced Monday that he wants to explore the idea of cutting summer vacation short, and keeping kids in the classroom longer. The president says our kids are at a disadvantage when compared to kids in other countries.

That’s because kids in other countries are already in school 20-30% longer than our kids. The president and his education secretary want to level the playing field.

"I'm willing to listen to ideas and proposals," said Judith Dodd. She says she's open minded about the idea, but doesn't want to miss more time with her kids. "I really value the time with my kids, I value the family time and the quality time that we derive out of summer breaks and vacation times."

Another mom tells 11 News the extra hours would really help out working parents. “I think the longer school day could be beneficial,” said Lori DiPasquale.

"If we're going to ask for that then we need to make our tax dollars count," said Autum Romano.

School District 11 already has a few schools with extended schedules. But, the administration is not sure it is making things any better. "We haven't really gotten enough data yet to say that it helps or it doesn't help," said Elaine Naleski, the spokesperson for District 11.

The district would like to see the benefits before spending the extra tax dollars on extra hours. "If you're going to spend the money, then you have to go into it knowing and having what you need to know that its going to make a difference in student achievement," said Naleski.

While it's true that kids in many other countries have more school days, it's not true they all spend more time in school. In fact, U.S. kids spend more hours in school than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests.

What do you think about longer school days and shorter summer breaks? Comment below!