Time Matters Blog

75% of Americans Say More Learning Time Will Help Prepare Students for Future Success

By Jennifer Davis on May 14, 2013 - 9:43am

States and school districts around the country are making significant headway in their efforts to develop and implement innovative and cost-effective ways to improve schools through more and better learning time, according to a new report released today by NCTL and the Education Commission of the States. This new report looks at the movement since the release of the July 2011 report, Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar, and includes results from a national survey showing broad support for expanding learning time through schools.

                           
 
The report provides a comprehensive overview of policy developments at the federal, state, and district levels to enable and fund innovative school models with expanded time to close achievement and opportunity gaps. These policies are not only benefiting students, but providing teachers with time to collaborate and prepare for reforms, including Common Core implementation. The report also provides recommendations for policymakers at all three levels of government. Read the report here. 

 

Thank You Teachers!

By Julia Falk on May 10, 2013 - 4:55pm

As Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close, we here at NCTL want to give a shout out to some of our favorite teachers who made a lasting impression on us.

                                                                         

“Mr. Veeter taught my AP Calculus class senior year of high school. Thank you Mr. Veeter for teaching me that I can achieve whatever I put my mind to and for making Calculus easy to understand and fun!” 

"Mr. Rand taught 7th grade Social Studies. Mr. Rand, thank you for making social studies fun for a 7th grader. You made sure that I will never forget the geography of the U.S. or Middle East!”

“Thank you to all my teachers at Rockland High School that help mold me into the person I am today!” 

“Mrs. Anderson taught my AP History class. Thank you for making the subject come alive and getting me psyched for college!” 

“Mr. Benttincourt was my 5th grade teacher. Thanks for sharing your passion for literature and poetry. Your love for words and imagination taught me to think outside the box.”

“Thank you Mrs. Robinson for teaching me in third grade how to hand sew a pillow. “I still sew to this very day!” 

“Mrs. Cross was the world’s most fantastic 5th grade teacher! Thank you Mrs. Cross – your confidence in us encouraged us to dream big and set high goals for our future!”

“Mr. Gatto was my high school theater teacher. Thank you for showing me how rewarding it is to put your full effort into a project. My favorite school memories are on your stage!”

“Mr. Salemi taught Chemistry and AP Chemistry. Thank you, Mr. Salemi, for introducing me to chemistry and knowing when to ease the tension by making the class shout out plumbum and other Latin names for elements.”

“Mr. Regan taught my 7th grade English class. Thank you, Mr. Regan, for teaching me the phrase “but I digress,” making me read the Hobbit, and making every class a conversation.”

“I want to thank my 11th grade English teacher, Mr. Tart, for helping me to see and develop ideas outside of the box. It may have led to arguments with a few of my college professors, but I know I am a better person because of it.”

“Thank you Dr. Marks for sparking my interest in developmental psychology. If it weren’t for you, I would have had no idea what to study in college!” 

“Mr. Egan taught our high school physics class. Thank you, Mr. Egan, for using your quick wit and sense of humor to engage your students and make learning fun.”

“Mr. Springer taught my 1st and 3rd grade classes (plus my sister had him for 4th grade – he was a family favorite!). Thank you, Mr. Springer, for leading us through fantastic science experiments with worms and pulleys and magnets and boats, and letting us publish book after book. And thank you for teaching me that the best teachers are strict but fair, tough but loving, firm but funny.” 

“To Mrs. Watkins, my 11th grade English teacher - thank you for putting me on the path to caring about good writing in all of its forms.”

“To Mr. Vredenburgh my Biology and Environmental Sciences teacher - Thank you for introducing me to the inherent beauty of environmental stewardship. It's been over 30 years since I first read it in your class, but "A Sand County Almanac" still is as magical as ever.”

National Center on Time & Learning Statement on President Obama’s FY 2014 Budget Release

By Blair Brown on April 11, 2013 - 2:06pm

(Boston, MA) Jennifer Davis, Co-Founder and President of the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), issued the following statement today in support of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request:

“We applaud President Obama’s 2014 education budget proposal, which reflects his continued commitment to investing in education to drive improvement across the U.S. and to provide critical support to our most disadvantaged students -- helping prepare them for college and careers. The President has requested $71 billion in discretionary education funding – an increase of more than four percent over last year. This request includes significant investments in K12 reform programs, such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program, School Improvement Grants, and a new High School Redesign program. 
 
“The National Center on Time & Learning specifically wants to recognize the President’s continuing commitment to expanding school learning time as a powerful lever to provide high-poverty students the education they need to succeed. This budget builds on the progress that is already being made throughout the nation as states and districts are working with the Administration to implement the ESEA Flexibility Waivers to create high-quality expanded learning time schools that provide teachers the time they need to successfully implement the more rigorous Common Core standards and give students the well-rounded education they deserve in order to compete in the 21st Century economy.
 
“The President’s budget proposal maintains the Administration’s commitment to providing state and local leaders with the flexibility they need. It would give local leaders in all states the flexibility to choose expanded learning time along with afterschool, before school, and summer programs as part of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, an option that is only available now to communities in the 21 states that applied for the CCLC waiver. 
 
“It is particularly noteworthy that President Obama and Secretary Duncan demonstrated their commitment to expanding learning opportunities for students in low-income communities by increasing funding for the CCLC program. The budget proposes $1.25 billion for CCLC, a $100 million increase.  
 
“Expanded learning time schools are also an important component of the Administration’s accountability and school turnaround strategies. Increasing learning time continues to be part of the school improvement grant program (renamed School Turnaround Grants) and through its school reform models would become part of the new accountability system that requires interventions in the lowest-performing schools. Expanded learning time is also an encouraged reform strategy for schools that are failing to close the achievement gap.   
 
“States like Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee, which make up the TIME Collaborative partnership with the Ford Foundation and NCTL, are already pioneering the use of the new federal flexibility to deliver the highest quality education through expanded learning time. This budget will support their efforts and help more states and districts build on their success.
 
“We applaud President Obama and Secretary Duncan for their leadership on encouraging the reform of the antiquated school schedule to ensure that students are able to compete in today’s economy. We strongly support the President’s proposal, and look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and Congress in the coming months on this important issue.”    
 

Turning Around Tumbleweed

By Roy Chan on April 3, 2013 - 10:41am

Roy Chan is the Director of  Effective Practices at NCTL and the lead author of Transforming Schools through Expanded Learning Time: Tumbleweed Elementary School

In school reform, few stories are more exciting or rewarding than a truly successful turnaround. These deserve our attention not only because they are (unfortunately) rare, but also because educators, policymakers, and anyone who has stepped inside a struggling school recognize that real, positive change requires tremendous talent and effort, as well as additional resources—including, occasionally, more time. 

We are thrilled to share another successful turnaround story through our Transforming Schools through Expanded Learning Time series. Two years ago, Tumbleweed Elementary School—located in Palmdale, CA, 60 miles north of Los Angeles—had little to celebrate as it turned 50 years old. Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, Tumbleweed’s student achievement had steadily declined; for instance, from 2004 to 2010, the school had never made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Not surprisingly, the state of California labeled Tumbleweed a “persistently low achieving” school in 2011.  
 
That year, led by a new administrative team; equipped with additional dollars through the US Department of Education’s School Improvement Grants (SIG); and given more time for students and teachers, the school achieved unprecedented gains. In 2011, Tumbleweed made AYP for the first time. School-wide proficiency rates on the California Standards Tests (CST) jumped 14 percentage points in ELA and 23 percentage points in math. Test scores reveal only part of their transformation. Today, students are more engaged; parents are more involved; and teachers are more collaborative.  “There wasn’t one particular thing we did that led to our improvement,” says Tumbleweed’s principal, Jezelle Fullwood. “It was a lot of hard work—getting new people, implementing professional learning communities, digging into data, changing the culture, and having a longer day.” Additional resources—SIG money and time—were undoubtedly essential for the school’s turnaround. However, they only provided the opportunity for Tumbleweed to transform itself. The case study and their results are a deserved acknowledgement that the school was able to capitalize on that opportunity. 
 

Statement from NCTL and TASC on New York Budget

By George Mastoras on March 28, 2013 - 2:30pm

Statement on new expanded learning time grant program in New York budget from NCTL Co-Founder & President Jennifer Davis and TASC President Lucy Friedman

“Governor Cuomo and New York State legislators took a bold step in passing a state budget that includes a $20 Million expanded learning time grant program, enabling school districts and community partners that put forward the best plans to add at least 25% more learning time to the traditional school day and/or year. 
 
With nearly 60 expanded-time schools across the state, these funds will add fuel to efforts already underway throughout the state. As one of five states in the TIME Collaborative, led by the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) and supported by the Ford Foundation, New York has been working to expand learning time to close achievement and opportunity gaps and offer flexible, individualized learning approaches that match the needs and interests of individual students. In Rochester, the School District is leading efforts for eight elementary schools to develop plans for an expanded school day, leveraging additional time for personalized instruction and teacher collaboration as well as to fully utilize the resources of community partners to offer a well-balanced curriculum. And in New York City, ExpandED Schools by TASC offer a re-designed school day in which schools, their community partners and families sit down together to assess the needs and interests of their students. They set explicit goals for school improvement and student advancement. They then program the school day with more small-group instruction, hands-on science, soccer or whatever it takes to meet the needs of their particular student body. 
 
New York’s grant program does more than provide much-needed funding to demonstrate the power of expanded learning time. The commitment of Governor Cuomo and legislators also provides an opportunity to recognize existing and new efforts to expand learning within a coherent, unified movement. The time for such a movement is now. The state has an urgent need to develop prepared workers with the core academic abilities and well-rounded education that produce 21st century skills – such as critical thinking, teamwork, technological literacy, and global awareness – that are vital for New York’s economic competitiveness. We are enthusiastic about working together to ensure New York remains at the forefront of expanded learning and prepares all of our young people for success.” 
 
 

MA Expanded Learning Time Initiative: Farther Reaching than You Think

By Shaunda Lewis on March 26, 2013 - 1:47pm

Shaunda Lewis is a coordinator for Massachusetts 2020. Massachusetts 2020 is a state affiliate of NCTL.

The Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Initiative serves 10 districts throughout the Commonwealth, but none as small or remote than the city of Greenfield.  Greenfield, which is situated in the northwestern section of the state, is defined by its scenic views. With a majority of the population residing in the “Boston Bubble” it is sometimes difficult to have that small-state sense of community come to life. But, even in the shadow of its resource-rich neighbors to the east, there seems to be no lack of positive energy emanating from the people that live and work in Greenfield; a positive energy that is especially felt amongst its smallest inhabitants and their teachers.

Greenfield, which serves about 2,000 students, has been implementing an expanded school day at its middle school and one of its four elementary schools for the past six years. Both schools were a part of the MA ELT Initiative’s third cohort and have been receiving technical assistance from Massachusetts 2020 since joining the ELT network. Greenfield’s ELT elementary school, Newton School, has responded extremely well to the support they have been receiving, and have made a number of considerable improvements. Newton established a strong instructional focus on comprehension across their expanded school day, and as a result, has increased the percentage of their students proficient or above on the MCAS by nineteen points in ELA and 16 points in Math since 2008.  Greenfield being a city where the median household income is about $39,000 doesn’t make it much different from the other districts the MA ELT initiative supports, but what does set it apart is the limited amount of resources its schools are able to utilize. The combination of these two characteristics, plus the fact that about seventy-two percent of Newton’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch, makes it amazing to see the level of improvement the school has made over this short amount of time.  While improvements in data and instructional practices at the schools our organization supports is great to see on paper, and hear of from others, nothing is as priceless as being able to see that improvement in action. 
 
In between the full-day technical assistance workshops Massachusetts 2020 holds for its MA ELT schools, clusters of school teams gather together for cross-school sharing in their improvement efforts.  I recently had a chance to visit Newton Elementary School, with the four other elementary schools that the ELT initiative supports, when they hosted the Elementary Cluster Meeting. We were there to witness first-hand why Newton has had such success in implementing their expanded school day. The first thing I noticed when walking through the front doors is that there are no shortage of warm greetings and smiling faces from both faculty and students. Even with a high level of structure in place, students’ spirits are high. Walking through the classrooms, from kindergarten through third grade, common comprehension strategies tied to their school-wide focus are implemented by the faculty and visually displayed. Students know routines, are respectful of each other and their teachers, and are able to explain their work. 
 
For example, one common strategy I saw in a number of classrooms used to help students explain their work is “TTQA”. In all classrooms, a teacher says “TTQA” and the students “Turn the Question Around”, responding to questions in complete sentences. Another common comprehension strategy used in all classrooms is Question and Answer Relationships (QAR). In Ms. Warren's first grade class, a beautiful visual display of QAR is what helps guide students through the reading comprehension portion of the day. The Problem of the Day is the number one common practice used during math time and its rubric is always displayed and consistent throughout all classrooms. When I visited Mr. Stone's third grade class, students checked their work to the problem of the day by using the rubric and taking turns writing down their answer to each piece of the question.

At Newton Elementary, seamless systems are consistent throughout each classroom, which in turn creates an environment where time is hardly wasted and learning is constantly occurring. Common practices are implemented consistently, school-wide, in large part due to the expanded time that teachers have to collaborate. Yes, these systems have led the school to great achievements, but even with all these systems in place, it is evident that a large part of the success at Newton Elementary in due to the fact that the faculty, and in turn the students, remain positive and are willing to learn. The high morale and warm and intimate setting of the school is reflective of the community of Greenfield. Even amidst a secluded location, and challenging economic conditions, there is never a lack of again, warm greetings and smiling faces. Visiting Newton reminded me that while our urban schools need support, schools in rural communities need it as well. Newton Elementary School in Greenfield, Massachusetts is an example of how commitment to instructional coherence, and a positive attitude, can go a long way.
 

It’s a Small World After All

By David Farbman on March 21, 2013 - 11:06am

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of presenting NCTL’s work to a delegation from the Kuwait Ministry of Education -15 men and women who had come to the U.S. under the auspices of the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association. I want to thank Pat Massa, former principal of the expanded-time Garfield Middle School in Revere, MA (and now a district administrator), for bringing her incredible perspective to the session. We caught them on the second day of their whirlwind two-week fact-finding tour about the complexities and challenges of the American public education system. 

In anticipation of this discussion, I had prepared a brief presentation about our work—borrowing mostly from presentations we make to American audiences all the time—but I have to admit to being a bit anxious that my talk would fall flat. After all, I figured that the Kuwaiti education system was so unlike our own that any discussion of the need for more school time or even what schools looked like here would be either irrelevant or so completely outside their experience that it would hold no resonance. Indeed, before the discussion, as I thought about what I might have to write about the experience, I had thought that my post would revolve around just how different our two countries are and just how wide apart are our expectations of what schools can and should do.

The opposite was true. First of all, the delegates, most of whom were from the Curriculum and Instruction department, could not have been more engaged in the conversation. Second, their questions and much of the discussion centered on the very same concerns that we hear all the time when we engage with American audiences. “What are the concerns of parents, teachers and students in extending the school day?” “How can you use time to differentiate instruction and how do special education students fare in a longer day?” “How do you make sure that the school day reflects what the students really need?” These questions and more animated our 90 minute discussion.
So, while I had expected my biggest takeaway from this session would have been about how these international exchange programs have limited value because each country’s schools are so different they cannot really borrow from one another, I instead now have come to appreciate these exchanges more than ever. How eye-opening to learn that Kuwait’s average school day runs from 7:45 until 1:30 and that they, too, are struggling to meet the needs of all students.  The idea that more time in school can help to alleviate those struggles is precisely on point for this Middle Eastern nation. Ultimately, the Kuwaitis are asking the same fundamental question that we Americans and school advocates all over the world ask: how do we help every child to learn and to reach his or her full potential? 
 
Now I will say that there was one point that one of the Kuwaiti delegates raised that I had never heard before here in this country. As the discussion was wrapping up, a shy woman raised her hand and said quietly, “I think a longer day would be good in Kuwait so we can keep students in the school buildings when it gets to be 50 degrees [i.e., about 120 degrees Fahrenheit] and there are dust storms in the afternoons.”  Even if we don’t add that particular benefit to our long list of why more school time is necessary, I know I will look back on this experience as a reminder of the universal appeal of our message.  

Expanding Learning Time with Technology

By Lindsay Cyr on March 21, 2013 - 4:00am

Morton Middle School and Talbot Innovation School in Fall River, MA are looking to create an innovative expanded learning time model that will be driven by integrating technology into their classrooms. In collaboration with NCTL, Fall River is partnering with Education Elements, an education technology company that is at the leading edge of helping schools combine teacher talent and technology tools to create “blended learning classrooms”. Since November, Education Elements and NCTL have partnered with Fall River teachers, district leaders, and the school principals to integrate an expanded school day and the most recent developments in blended learning.

With three schools that have had an expanded school day for more than four years, Fall River has a history of bold school improvement strategies. For a number of years, the district has been interested in adopting a more personalized approach to instruction through blended learning. When the district was selected to join the TIME Collaborative planning process to rethink the day and year at more of its schools, it quickly saw how more learning time would support a blended approach. With a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, NCTL has been able to combine its expertise in expanding learning time with Education Elements’ expertise on creating blended learning classrooms.
 
The school teams and district leaders have learned that building a successful blended learning model of ELT is much more complex than simply purchasing access to digital content providers and handing out passwords to students. They have had to determine the balance between using digital content for skill building, remediation, or to introduce new content. They have had to rethink the role of teachers in a blended learning classroom, and of administrators in a blended learning school. They have had to determine whether to roll out blended learning school-wide, or phase it in one grade at a time. They have had to inventory their existing hardware and facilities to assess the need for upgrades – right down to counting the number of power outlets available in each classroom! 
 
District and school leaders have also attended school-level design workshops led by Education Elements to determine how to use digital content, as well as to consider each school’s technology, staffing, and other needs in the blended learning planning process. District leaders are currently working with school planning teams to support the selection of content providers that meet the needs of each school, while also optimizing both quality and efficiency for the district as a whole. Targeting content providers that could meet the needs of multiple schools and be purchased in bulk is one example of their efforts to achieve this goal.
 
The teams from Morton and Talbot are looking forward to participating in a Blended Learning leadership academy in Washington, D.C. in April that will help them prepare their colleagues for a new approach to teaching and learning – and a new school day – this fall. While it has been complicated integrating their TIME Collaborative planning and the design and decision-making needed to move towards a blended learning model, both schools are now closing in on a final design for their new school day that was hardly imaginable just a few years ago.
 

The time COLLABORATIVE

By Roy Chan on March 15, 2013 - 4:36pm

Conflict is inevitable—at our jobs and at home, in our news and in our websites. But we approach personal conflict (those we encounter at work and at home) differently from public conflict (news and websites). When we encounter conflict in our own lives, we compromise, collaborate, and empathize, because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have jobs and no one would like us. 

But when we come across conflict in our public discourse, our mindsets shift. We fixate on why conflict exists instead of focusing on how to solve it. We take sides; we argue to be right; we look to win. We’ve seen this most recently in our public debates over federal spending, and we’ve seen this in school reform for years: charters against districts; what’s best for students against what’s best for adults; or one interest group against another. While differences no doubt exist among various individuals and groups, these ‘us versus them’ characterizations ignore nuances and commonalities while creating caricatures of individuals who have committed their careers to preparing kids for success. More importantly, it’s damaging to the kinds of conversations, relationships, and collaboration that are truly needed to improve our schools
 
Collaboration has been vital in our work throughout the TIME Collaborative—the initiative to expand time at 39 schools across five states. Back in December, the TIME Collaborative launch in DC brought together key players from philanthropic foundations, non-profits, and policymakers from all levels of government. Since then, a different kind of collaboration has emerged. During our six planning sessions with each state’s TIME Collaborative schools, we share and learn strategies from high-performing expanded-time schools, as well as from one another, around student programming, teacher development, and building support. Outside of these sessions, we work closely with schools to create new, expanded-time schedules that better address the needs of their students and adults. In the past few weeks, for instance, TIME Collaborative teams in Colorado have visited schools (including one charter school) to generate ideas; school faculty, district staff, and union leaders have revisited policies ranging from transportation to staffing; and policymakers, community organizations, district staff, and school leaders have engaged in conversations to more flexibly use funds. These conversations are inherently heated at times, and they ought to be. Changing schools is hard work, and that’s all the more reason to be inclusive rather than divisive.
 
Expanded learning time in the public discourse is most succinctly captured by the question, ‘are you for or against a longer school day (or year)?’ But that’s not the right question. Instead, we should be asking ourselves and each other: ‘which schools and students would benefit from more time in school?’; ‘what conditions allow for the effective use of time?’; and ‘how do we create those conditions for the schools and students who stand to benefit from more time?’ These questions would allow for greater nuance and common ground. They would yield richer conversations and encourage greater collaboration.
 
In addition to being the wrong question, ‘are you for or against a longer school day?’ is also an incomplete one. Time alone is value-neutral; it’s what you do with it that matters. Effectively leveraging time takes a targeted and coordinated effort among an array of agencies, organizations, and people representing different perspectives with access to various resources. If we want to transform education for our students—whether through expanded time or some other lever—conflict is inevitable, but real conflict, both personal and public, is best resolved through collaboration. 

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