The Time for Innovation Matters in Education Act (TIME Act)
The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) praises Senate and House education leaders Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), Congressman George Miller (D-CA) along with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for their support of legislation that would expand learning time in targeted public schools across the country.
Senator Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate’s Health Education Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, released the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Act, which is modeled after the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative. In addition, Congressmen Miller and Payne filed companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Barack Obama has called for a significant restructuring of public schools in America in order to accelerate school improvement. The TIME Act supports this call by redesigning traditional public schools to add significantly more learning time for children in the country’s poorest communities. The TIME Act would provide federal funding to launch initiatives to expand learning time in low-performing, high poverty schools in order to boost student performance, close academic achievement gaps, allow more time for teachers to participate in quality professional development, and expand enrichment opportunities for our nation’s most under-served students.
“We applaud Senator Kennedy and Congressman Payne along with their colleagues in the House and Senate for their leadership on this issue,” said Jennifer Davis, President of the National Center of Time & Learning, which works with states to support expanding learning time initiatives. “The highest performing public schools in America have proven that our neediest children can reach high standards with more time and support. A global economy demands more of our students and schools, and it is time that we redesign the school calendar to allow all of our students to compete.”
Across the country, many of the schools that achieve the greatest success in narrowing the achievement gap with their students operate with additional time. The highest-performing charter schools, such as the KIPP Academies, Achievement First Schools and Uncommon Schools, all use an average of 30-60% more time than traditional public schools. In Massachusetts, the 26 Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Schools have added 300 hours to their school year and early results from ELT Schools show that more time in traditional public schools can help close the achievement gap. After two years with additional time, ELT Schools are moving more students to proficiency in math, English and science.
President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are calling on states to accelerate education reform and creatively use education funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to impact long-term school improvements, one of the boldest of which is to rethink the traditional school calendar. The guidance, released on April 24, 2009 by the U.S. Department of Education, gave states direction for possible uses of the ARRA funds, builds on President Obama’s call for reform by encouraging states to use the federal education dollars to “add time to the school day and year, and redesign the school schedule to increase time for core academics, enrichment and staff collaboration.”
“It is time to rethink how our public schools are structured to better serve all of our students,” said Chris Gabrieli, Chairman of the National Center on Time & Learning and co-author of Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods, which looked at expanded time initiatives across the country. “Secretary Duncan is a leader in this effort and we applaud Senator Kennedy and Congressmen Miller and Payne for introducing the TIME Act today. Together, they are declaring that our country will not accept the status quo in education. And that when given the tools they need – like more time – schools can help all students become college and career ready.”
Please click here to read a summary of the TIME Act.
Please click here to read S. 1410, the full text of the Senate bill, and here to read Senator Kennedy's statement on the TIME Act.
Please click here to read H.R. 3130, the full text of the House bill.
Chris Gabrieli- Chairman of the National Center on Time & Learning, John Podesta- CEO of the Center for American Progress, and Congressman Miller- Chair of the House Education Committee, discuss the the importance of learning time.
Jennifer Davis, President & CEO of the National Center on Time & Learning, presenting at an event at the Center for American Progress.