Across the United States, most students attend school 180 days a year, and roughly 6.5 hours each day. This system is not based on any concrete data or research, but has arisen over the years as the nationwide standard. A group of leaders recently gathered to challenge this model at the Askwith Education Forum, "Longer Days in Better Schools: The Expanded Learning Model." Ron Ferguson, director of the Achievement Gap Initiative and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, moderated the event.
"Our goal is to reach kids where
they are and take them where they need to go, so obviously time should be a
variable," said Chris Gabrieli, cochairman of the
Gabrieli drew a clear distinction between simply expanded time and sufficient time. "The goal is to have sufficient time to help every kid build the academic skill base they need to succeed, and sufficient time to have a well-rounded education," he explained.
Principals from two local schools
participating in ELT attended the event and offered insight into how changes in
learning time have affected their schools. Jeff Riley, Ed.M.'99, principal of
the
Rather than expanding each period within the school day, the staff at Edwards created an extra period at the end of the day in which students attend one of several academic "leagues" based on their need. "It's about trying to best fit kids where they need to be. If we can get this extra time and use it wisely, it can be very powerful for kids," Riley said, echoing Gabrieli.
Conversely, Robin Harris, principal of Fletcher-Maynard Academy in Cambridge, used ELT to extend the amount of instructional time in core subjects. Lunch and recess time has also been expanded, which Harris said has had a positive impact on students' focus after lunch.
The attitude of teachers and students has changed with the new schedule. "It is hard to come to Fletcher-Maynard Academy. The students know that we are not only serious about their education but we are also instilling a seriousness in each of them," Harris said.
Harris and Riley agreed that the ability for teachers to build stronger relationships with their students has been a valuable feature of ELT. "A major component to the success of our school is relationships," Harris said. "It is important that every one of my teachers knows that child that sits in front of them, how they tick, what's important to them, and how they learn." Both schools also reserve a block of time one afternoon each week for teacher planning and professional development, which has proven beneficial to all.
Superintendent of Boston Public Schools Carol Johnson weighed in on the discussion, offering a perspective on the cost of such an initiative. "The amount of money we get from the state is not sufficient to cover all the expenses of ELT, so we now have to think more about how our partners can help us maximize the limited amount of money we have," Johnson said.
Simply adding two hours to teachers' workdays is not necessarily feasible. "Teaching is a very intellectually and physically exhausting activity. If all we're doing is saying [teachers] have to work until six instead of three, we're not necessarily going to get the highest quality performance," Johnson said. She suggested that schools adopt one external partner as a way to address both of these issues; by doing so, schools can redirect resources already offered under NCLB and allow teachers time to regroup and plan at the end of the day.
Edwards Middle School, for example, has partnered with the Citizen Schools program, which staffs a number of the school's afternoon activities. "We are always monitoring how much is too much for our teachers, and we recognized that we needed a second shift of workers," Riley said.
A common theme present in each of
the panelists' comments was exposure to new academic opportunities, extracurricular
activities, and situations in which students can become leaders and share their
voices. Expanded Learning Time has successfully increased positive exposure for
kids in participating schools in
"There is certainly a lot more to learn about time in schools, but I think the time to debate whether or not we should be trying this is definitely over," Gabrieli said.
Students attend school more than 180 days a year, and longer than 6.5 hours each day in my country. But it's hard to distinguish if teachers and students spend "sufficient time" in school. So where is the border of school time? It's really important, different at the same time. Pay more attention.
In my school, most teachers arrive for work before 7AM, all provide some sort of logistic support to get kids into school and into class in an orderly fasion. They are required to be at school until at least 3:15 on a normal day and as late as 4:30 on days they have meetings and (very limited) professional development. They all spend hours out of school time, planning and grading. The young ones go full steam for several years like this before burning out or slowing to a pace which allows for a realistic work/life ballance.
I cannot help but believe that understanding new paradigms in learning and how we approach them are indeed worthy of the trials. I work as the assistant principal of a U.S. public school located on an island in the pacific. We conduct a regular school day which is 8am-3pm for all students under a 4x4 block schedule. A 5th block extends to 5:15pm in all core subject areas for credit. There is a 25 min break in the morning and a 60 min lunch period, followed by a 15 min break before the 5th block. We are also the highest performing school in the state for the past 6 years. We feel there is a direct correlation between the schedule and the achievement.
We should always strive to discover breakthrough principles and programs that work. We cannot sit idle and merely believe what our scholarly scrolls have proposed in the past are so written in stone that we cannot fathom the paradigm shift towards a parallel understanding.
I am a 7th grade teacher in Brooklyn, NY at a public middle school. I have been teaching for 8 years in this setting. Overall, I have 18 years of teaching experience. I think expanding the school day is a huge mistake that will have no real results in the big picture. Teachers are already working from 8 AM-3PM, and many teachers are planning to 5 PM and later. Teachers spend numerous hours per week planning, collecting data, talking to parents, organizing and grading. Also, who will pay teachers more to work more hours? Schools in NYC are presently finding less money in their yearly budgets. My school does have a great after-school program from 3 PM-5 PM but the focus is on the art, music, drama, dance, crafts, knitting and Physical Education. In addition to a few test prep workshops. Students need to unwind from the high demand of a 7 hour school day. Another solution is connecting students to the local community where they can learn about the natural world and local ecological services developing community projects. This will help students gain problem solving skills and develop real world experience. We need to get students outside the school building connecting with local organizations. This are the types of activities that are needed within the 7 hour day. Less is more here. Most importantly, we need to connect families to our schools not keeping students in school longer. We need to focus on the social-emotional life at home making sure children get support at home not only in school. Thanks for the opportunity to express a teacher's view.