Introducing the Time to Succeed Coalition

This is a guest post from NCTL's Director of Communications & External Affairs and the National Director of the Time to Succeed Coalition, Blair Brown.

Over the past several months, I’ve had the exciting and unique opportunity to be at the center of building the Time to Succeed Coalition (TSC). Over the coming months, you can expect to see a lot of TSC as we continue to build the ELT movement and capture the energy and excitement around expanded learning time. As we launch this campaign, I wanted to take a moment to introduce both the coalition and our team.

What is TSC? The Time to Succeed Coalition is truly just that – a coalition. TSC is an umbrella for all of the voices who know that the current school schedule is not enough time to do what we need to for the children in our nation’s neediest communities. It is, of course, more than just a gathering place or a website. TSC is a call to action. We will work nationally, state-by-state, and community-by-community to continue to build the movement of expanded learning time schools across the country. From TSC, you can expect to see on-the-ground work in helping communities catalyze action around ELT as well as news updates and action alerts.

Who is TSC? I want to first acknowledge our signatories. Over 100 people have signed on to our platform to date. From the presidents of both teachers’ unions to business leaders, academics and civil rights leaders, superintendents and charter school leaders, parents and principals, TSC brings together a broad and diverse group of leaders in support of expanding learning time. But this is just the beginning.

None of this would be possible, of course, without strategic leadership and guidance. For TSC, that critical component has come from the Ford Foundation and, from our home base, the National Center on Time & Learning. This unique partnership of two organizations committed to a country where “more and better learning time” is the norm in K-12 education forms the foundation of TSC.

Every day, you will see updates, blogs, alerts, and tweets from a dedicated TSC staff. I am joined by my colleagues, Michael Pernick and Julia Falk, and we come to work every day dedicated to doing our part to ensure that all children, whether in Boston, Oklahoma City, or Los Angeles, have the time they need to succeed in school and beyond.

Please join us! Our movement is only as strong as the people who join, and we need you to stand with us, to advocate, and to lead. If you are a teacher, administrator, parent, school board member, community leader, or a concerned citizen, and you believe in the power of expanded learning time, we hope you will join the Time to Succeed Coalition. I am looking forward to our work together in the months ahead!