Advocacy

Since Massachusetts 2020 was founded in 2000 and then the National Center on Time & Learning was launched in 2007, policy change has been an organizational priority.  From leading the advocacy for the first statewide initiative to expand learning time in district schools—the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative -- to the seeing ELT codified within the federal $1.2 billion 21st Century Community Learning Center program in 2015, NCTL has seen a tremendous impact on the number of children gaining access to expanded learning time schools that expand and strengthen their learning opportunities.  Our bi-annual policy report, Learning Time in America, documents the federal and state policy trends in the ELT field.   Below you will find some of our advocacy communications materials, videos and tools.   

Time to Succeed

In 2012, Co-founder, Chris Gabrieli and (former) President of the Ford Foundation, Luis Urbana put out a call to action for more learning time in schools for the students who need it most – those disadvantaged by poverty. In place of the traditional schedule of six-and-a-half-hour days and 180 days per year they sought to give students the time, through a modernized school schedule, to acquire the high academic skills and well-rounded education they need to succeed in a 21st century world.

Hundreds of educators, policymakers, parents and leaders signed onto the TSC Call to Action:

At this time of great challenge and possibility, we call on policymakers and educators at all levels – federal, state, and local – to commit to expanding learning time at all high-poverty schools over the next decade. We ask civic leaders and academics, CEOs and philanthropists, teachers and students, parents and concerned citizens to join this movement and give the next generation the time they need to succeed.

We now have over one thousand models across the country proving that expanded time, when well used, is effective and critical to helping disadvantaged students overcome the high hurdles they face. We don’t claim that time alone is the answer— learning time, current and expanded, is only as powerful as the quality of teaching and curriculum. The evidence demonstrates, however, that with high-quality teaching and strong principal leadership, frequent and strategic use of student data, and a thoughtful use of resources, expanding learning time works.

Teachers, parents, students, unions and communities must be involved and the implementation of expanded learning time must respect their needs and concerns. Expanded learning time structures should be sustainable and fair for teachers, flexible and supportive for families and adaptable and sensitive to the needs of communities. We have much to learn about how to consistently achieve our vision, and there will surely be many paths to success so we must leaven our urgency with an appropriate humility.

Many pioneering schools have used additional resources to expand their school schedules; others have done it by matching current resources to new priorities. The federal government has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to support increasing learning time and many existing resources are available for that purpose. In turn, we must all commit to accountability, continuous assessment and improvement, and rapid dissemination of promising and effective practices. We must demand excellence and refuse to allow mediocrity to compromise this work.

The time is now. We must follow in the footsteps of successful pioneers. With a proven reform in hand, we can no longer tolerate achievement and opportunity gaps. Fulfilling our shared responsibility to educate all children is within our grasp. It is time to succeed.

Featured signatories who signed onto this platform include:

  • Tonya Allen, President and CEO, The Skillman Foundation
  • Will Austin, Chief Operating Officer, Uncommon Schools Boston
  • Morton Ballen, CEO and Founder, Explore Schools
  • Steve Barr, CEO, Future is Now
  • Richard Barth, CEO, KIPP Foundation
  • Scott Barton, Principal, The Preuss School UCSD
  • Richard Beattie, Founder and Chairman, New Visions for Public Schools
  • Lars Beck, Founder and CEO, Scholars Academies
  • Erin Benham, President, Meriden Federation of Teachers; Member, CT State Board of Education
  • Richard Berlin, Executive Director, Harlem RBI
  • Hon. Elaine Gantz Berman, Member, Colorado State Board of Education
  • Jason Bernal, President and CEO, YES Prep Public Schools
  • Douglas Biklen, Retired Dean, Syracuse University School of Education
  • Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink
  • Hon. Michael Bloomberg, Founder and Owner, Bloomberg LP; Former Mayor, City of New York
  • Tom Boasberg, Superintendent, Denver Public Schools
  • Hon. Cory Booker, U.S. Senator
  • David Boren, President, University of Oklahoma; Former U.S. Senator, Former OK Governor
  • Jean-Claude Brizard, President, UpSpring Education Group; Former CEO of Chicago Public Schools
  • Eli Broad, Founder, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
  • Cynthia Brown, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
  • Furman Brown, Founder, Generation Schools Network
  • Michael Brown, Co-Founder and CEO, City Year
  • Martha Bruckner, Superintendent, Council Bluffs Community School District
  • Brad Bryant, Executive Director, REACH Georgia; Former GA State Superintendent
  • Judy Burton, President and CEO, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
  • Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children's Zone
  • LaShawn Routé Chatmon, Executive Director, National Equity Project
  • Gerald Chertavian, Founder and CEO, Year Up
  • Mitchell Chester, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Hon. Martha Coakley, Of Counsel, Foley Hoag; Former Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • Celine Coggins, CEO, Teach Plus
  • Michael Cohen, President, Achieve Inc.
  • Lauren Coppedge, Founding Executive Director, The Launch Collaborative
  • Patrick Crago, Professor and Associate Dean of Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
  • Christopher Cross, Partner, Cross & Joftus
  • Paul Dakin, Superintendent, Revere Public Schools, MA
  • Michael Danziger, Founder and CEO, The Steppingstone Foundation
  • Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University
  • Jennifer Davis, Co-Founder and President, National Center on Time & Learning
  • John Deasy, Superintendent-in-Residence, The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems
  • Marsha Dobrzynski, Executive Director, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning
  • Daniel Domenech, Executive Director, American Association of School Administrators
  • Nicholas Donohue, President and CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Hon. Michael Dukakis, Distinguished Professor, Northeastern University; Former MA Governor
  • Nick Ehrmann, CEO and Founder, Blue Engine
  • Hon. Joyce Elliott, State Senator, Arkansas Legislature; Former Teacher
  • Hon. Rahm Emanuel, Mayor, City of Chicago
  • Bruce Fehn, Associate Professor, University of Iowa
  • Mike Feinberg, Co-Founder, KIPP
  • Hon. James Fiorentini, Mayor, City of Haverhill, MA
  • Lucy Friedman, President, The After-School Corporation
  • Martin Friedman, Executive Director, EducationWorks
  • Hon. Bill Frist, Founder and Chairman, The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) Tennessee; Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
  • Chris Gabrieli, Co-Founder, National Center on Time & Learning
  • Karen Symms Gallagher, Dean, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education
  • Robert Gallery, President, Bank of America Massachusetts
  • Patricia Gándara, Co-Director, UCLA Civil Rights Project; Research Professor ,UCLA Graduate School of Education
  • Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Chris Gdowski, Superintendent, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, CO
  • Patrick Gadell, Commissioner, Education Commission of the States
  • Joseph Goins, Executive Vice President, WIN Learning
  • Milton Goldberg, Chancellor, Jones International University
  • Warren Goldstein, Professor and Chair, Department of History, University of Hartford
  • Peter Gorman, Executive Vice President for Education Services, Amplify
  • Tom Gosnell, President, AFT Massachusetts
  • Terry Grier, Superintendent, Houston Independent School District
  • Paul Grogan, President and CEO, The Boston Foundation
  • Kris Gutiérrez, Professor of Literacy and Learning Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Kathryn Hanson, CEO and Founder, ALearn
  • David Harris, Founder and CEO, The Mind Trust
  • Reed Hastings, CEO and Founder, Netflix
  • Patrick Haugh, CEO, Teaching Trust
  • Kaya Henderson, Chancellor, D.C. Public Schools
  • Wade Henderson, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
  • William Henk, Dean and Professor, College of Education, Marquette University
  • Ellie Herman, Coordinator of Student Field Experiences, The University of Iowa College of Education
  • Antonia Hernández, President and CEO, California Community Foundation
  • Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director, Learning Forward
  • Ken Hoyte, Professor, Medgar Evers College
  • Robert Hughes, President, New Visions for Public Schools
  • Rev. Kimberly Hyatt, President and CEO, Cathedral Arts Project
  • Lior Ipp, CEO, The Roddenberry Foundation
  • Ben Jealous, Venture Partner, Kapor Capital; Former President and CEO of the NAACP  
  • Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President, Wheelock College
  • Elisabeth Jensen, President and Executive Director, The Race for Education; Founder of the Starting Gate
  • Carol Johnson, Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University; Former Superintendent, Boston Public Schools
  • Helayne Jones, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Jeremy Kane, Founder, LEAD Public Schools
  • Tom Kane, Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Faculty Director at Center for Education Policy Research
  • Hon. Joseph Kennedy III, Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Alan Khazei, Founder and CEO, Be The Change; Co-Founder of City
  •     Year
  • Miles Kimball, Economics Professor, University of Michigan
  • Suzanne Klahr, CEO and Founder, BUILD    
  • Timothy Knowles, John Dewey Director, Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago
  • Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO, Teach for All; Founder, Teach for America
  • Bill Kurtz, CEO, DSST Public Schools
  • Gloria Larson, President, Bentley University
  • Larry Leverett, Executive Director, Panasonic Foundation
  • Dave Levin, Co-Founder, KIPP
  • Michael Lomax, President and CEO, United Negro College Fund
  • Peter Lynch, Investor
  • John Macero, Superintendent, Winthrop Public Schools, MA
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  • Meg Mayo-Brown, Superintendent, Fall River Public Schools, MA
  • Kathleen McCartney, President, Smith College; Former Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Michael Milkie, CEO and Superintendent, Noble Network of Charter Schools
  • Jan Miller, Chair, Department of Instructional Leadership and Support, University of West Alabama
  • Ellen Moir, Founder and CEO, New Teacher Center
  • Joseph Moore, President, Lesley University
  • Hon. Michael Morath, School Board Trustee, Dallas Independent School District
  • Scott Morgan, Founder and CEO, Education Pioneers
  • Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League; Former Mayor of New Orleans
  • Eva Moskowitz, Founder and CEO, Success Academy Charter Schools
  • Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Chair & Director, Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative
  • J. Keith Motley, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Boston
  • Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza
  • Kevin Murphy, President and CEO, Berks County Community Foundation
  • Linda Nathan, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Director, Institute for Creative Education Leadership, Boston University; Founding Headmaster, Boston Arts Academy
  • Yoel Nitzarim, Professor, College of Lake County
  • Pedro Noguera, Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, New York University
  • Linda Noonan, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education
  • Jeannie Oakes, Presidential Professor Emeritus in Educational Equity, University of California Los Angeles
  • Peter Orszag, Chairman of the Financial Strategy and Solutions Group, Citygroup; Columnist, Bloomberg View
  • Hon. Deval Patrick, Former Massachusetts Governor; Managing     Director, Bain Capital
  • Charles Payne, Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor,
  •     University of Chicago
  • Thomas Payzant, Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Former Superintendent, Boston Public Schools
  • Mark Perriello, President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities
  • Marco Petruzzi, Chief Executive Officer, Green Dot Public Schools
  • Jim Peyser, Secretary, Executive Office of Education, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • Andre Ravenelle, Superintendent, Fitchburg Public Schools, MA
  • Ben Rayer, Chief Strategy Officer, Matchbook Learning
  • Paul Reville, Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Augustina Reyes, Curriculum and Instruction Professor, University of Houston College of Education
  • Gerald Richards, Chief Executive Officer, 826 National
  • Jeffrey Riley, Superintendent, Lawrence Public Schools, MA
  • Hon. Daniel Rizzo, Mayor, City of Revere, MA
  • Hon. Roy Romer, Senior Advisor, The College Board; Former LAUSD Superintendent; Former Colorado Governor
  • Hon. Mark Roosevelt, President, Antioch College; Former Superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools; Former MA Legislator
  • Joel Rose, Co-Founder and CEO, New Classrooms Innovation Partners
  • Evan Rudall, Board Member, Zearn; Former CEO of Uncommon Schools; Former Co-Director, Roxbury Prepartory Charter School
  • Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Alan Safran, Chair, SAGA Innovations  
  • Roger Sampson, Board Member, Jobs for America’s Graduates; Former President, Education Commission of the States
  • Bob Sanborn, President and CEO, Children at Risk
  • Nick Sauvie, Executive Director, ROSE Community Development
  • Jon Schnur, Executive Chairman, America Achieves; Former Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education
  • Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder and President, The College for Social Innovation; Co-Founder, Citizen Schools
  • Karen Seashore Louis, Regents Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development
  • Mora Segal, CEO, The Achievement Network
  • Steven Seleznow, President and CEO, Arizona Community Foundation
  • Warren Simmons, Executive Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
  • Dixon Slingerland, Executive Director, Youth Policy Institute
  • Chris Smith, President and Executive Director, Boston After School & Beyond
  • Jeffrey Smith, Superintendent, Balsz Elementary School District #31, AZ
  • Fredric Spar, Managing Director, Kekst and Company
  • Jonathan Spear, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer, Generation Schools Network
  • Matthew Spengler, Executive Director and Founder, Blueprint Schools Network
  • Elisabeth Stock, CEO and Co-Founder, Computers for Youth
  • Herb Sturz, Founder, The After-School Corporation; Senior Advisor, Open Society Institute; Founder, Reserve
  • Hon. Angel Taveras, Shareholder, Greenberg Taurig; Former Mayor, City of Providence, RI
  • Hon. Kathy Taylor, CEO, ImpactTulsa; Former Mayor, Tulsa, OK
  • Susan Thompson, Executive Director, Academy of the Pacific Rim
  • Doua Thor, Senior Advisor, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
  • Paul Toner, Past President, New Voice Strategies; Former President, Massachusetts Teachers Association
  • Kent Trachte, President, Lycoming College
  • James Troupis, Chief Talent Officer, Noble Network of Charter Schools
  • Luis Ubiñas, Former President, Ford Foundation  
  • Adam Urbanski, Vice President, American Federation of Teachers; President, Rochester Teachers Association  
  • Mark Valli, CEO, Community Charter School of Paterson, NJ
  • Dennis Van Roekel, Past President, National Education Association
  • Ed VanderTook, Superintendent, Strasburg School District 31J, CO
  • Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
  • David Vinca, Founder and CEO, eSpark
  • Dennis Walcott, Retired Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
  • Terry Wallace, Fellow, Institute for Innovation in Education, West Liberty University
  • Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
  • Susan Weller, Professor & Director of Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota
  • Gordon Whitman, Deputy Director, PICO National Network
  • Junious Williams, CEO, Urban Strategies Council
  • Hon. Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education; Former West Virginia Governor
  • Chip Wood, Facilitator, Center for Courage and Renewal Northeast; Co-Founder and Co-Developer, Responsive Classroom
  • Iris Zuniga, Chief Operating Officer, Youth Policy Institute