EducationNews.org

1) First of all, what prompted you to write about the issue of school scheduling?

My overall motivation for being involved in education work is the same as for many successful entrepreneurs I know.  My parents were adult immigrants to the United States and they worked hard to give my brother and me the sorts of educations that have propelled our careers and opportunities.  I have lived the American Dream.  I want to make sure that we live up to our ideal and make equal opportunity through education available to everyone. 

As I got involved with education, I became increasingly interested in looking not just at the traditional school day but also at what children did when they were not in school—which is an astounding 80% of the time they are awake.  I became convinced that schools need more time to make sure all children get the time they need to succeed academically and also to have a well-rounded education. 

I saw charter and other innovative public schools that were using more time and getting impressive results.  Finally, I decided to work to let more schools and educators get the chance to use more time. When that started to work out so well in Massachusetts I decided it was time to tell other people that what is happening and working at over 1,000 public schools could be working for them.

2) What is you basic argument for either a longer school day or a "new school day" as you put it?

Schools that adopt a new school day – using about two hours more per day – offer three key benefits.  First and foremost, they improve the quality of education.  With more time, teachers can help more students gain the strong academic fundamentals they need to succeed.  Also, schools can offer a broader, richer curriculum with time for subjects beyond the tested core of English and math such as science, history, social studies and foreign languages and cultures.  More time also allows teachers to work more collaboratively and to hone their teaching skills.  Secondly, schools whose schedule mirrors the normal work day – running until near 5:00 pm – offer great relief to working families where parents are not home at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, when schools end now.  And finally, teens set on the loose in neighborhoods can get themselves, and others, into trouble. 

Communities would rather those young people were engaged and supervised than left to their own devices.

The old school day worked when it was settled upon, fifty to a hundred years ago.  In that era, there were lots of good middle-class jobs in manufacturing and other fields that did not require advanced educations.  Those days are gone and young people today need exceptionally strong academic skills if they are to thrive in the 21^st Century economy and society.  Family structure has changed a lot too. 

Now, most mothers work and more children than ever grow up in single parent households.  The old school schedule depended on family members and neighbors helping attend to children after school.  Finally, young people face more temptations and risks than ever.  Evidence shows clearly that the unsupervised after-school hours are the period of greatest risk for violence, drugs, alcohol, smoking, teen pregnancy and other behavior we should try to prevent.

3) Would a longer or a different school day help with the "achievement gap?"

The achievement gap is a term used to describe the sad fact that everywhere in our country, on virtually every test and measure, student outcomes are highly correlated with their socioeconomic and racial status.  By far the single most predictive factor for any student, class, school or district is this "accident of birth."  The differences are large and pernicious and we have made very little progress on narrowing them.  The most frequent adopters of the new school day are schools that have predominantly high-risk, low income students and they have shown that with more time to learn, students can narrow and even eliminate the traditional achievement gap. 

I think the reasons for this are clear: whereas middle- and upper-income families supplement school with informal (parent help) and formal (tutors and test prep and music lessons and town sports and lots more) programs, most poorer children receive very little support beyond the school day itself.  Adding to the school day allows schools to give them the same individualized attention, the same added homework help and tutoring and the same opportunities to develop their musical, arts, drama, athletic and other dimensions.

4) I sincerely agree with you that 180 days is simply too little time for children to master the basics and learn all that is required in many state curriculums. How does the average parent communicate the need for either a longer school day or a longer school year to their senators and congressmen?

Parents want to ensure that their children receive the best possible education. Many parents recognize that the current school schedule is out of date, and it is not preparing our children for success in today's global economy. With increasing global competition, parents recognize the need for a more modern school schedule that offers their children a high-quality, well-rounded education. It is amazing to see what parents can do when they mobilize behind an issue that they feel is important to their children's education. Parents can call and write letters and emails to their senators and representatives to express their support for expanded learning time, and expressing to their elected officials the need for a modern school schedule.

If a parent has a child in a school with more time, they can work with that school's administrators to invite their legislators—both state and federal—to their schools to see the opportunities that the additional time presents for their students.

5) I have traveled abroad and many nations have schools open on Saturday for sports, clubs, organizational meetings, and library use. Why does it seem that most schools are locked down tighter than a drum on Saturdays and Sundays?

While visiting schools as I was writing Time to Learn, I was most impressed by those that were able to think about expanding time in creative ways. Most of the schools that are able to do that, such as KIPP Academies, are charter schools. They have shown great success in implementing a new school day through the expansion of time by nearly 60%, and in many cases that includes opening their doors on Saturdays. Expanding the time in which students have access to learning should happen in any way that is possible within a particular school or community—and this includes weekend time.

However, through my work I have found that it is most beneficial to expand the school day so that teachers can use additional time to enhance the lessons through differentiated instruction, hands-on projects, and small group learning. That said, it seems like common sense that taxpayer-funded buildings with so much to offer children, like recreational facilities, should be open and utilized.

6) What is the National Center on Time and Learning? Tell us about it.

The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) is dedicated to studying and supporting the expansion of learning time to improve student achievement and enable a well-rounded education for all children. We start with a simple premise - that time matters when it comes to education. NCTL tracks the growth and evolution of new day schools and other schools that are innovating on the use of time for learning.  We support policy makers at the national, state and local level who seek to accelerate the adoption of the new school day and we also help schools and districts with technical assistance in how to do it. Visit www.timeandlearning.org to learn more.

Published May 22, 2008