Across the country, millions of children have the same school schedule as their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.  Are we finally poised to give children the time they need to learn?

Christopher Gabrieli and Warren Goldstein, authors of TIME TO LEARN, argue that the current school day—six hours and 180 days per year—is obsolete; that it fails to accommodate all that children need to learn—from basics like English, math and science to extra-curricular activities like music, sports, drama and even robotics.  The old school day is also out of step with the reality of working families without a stay-at-home parent to manage their children’s after-school time.

TIME TO LEARN describes a new school day—usually an hour or two longer—with a redesigned schedule that allows children enough time to master core academic subjects, receive individualized instruction and tutoring, and be exposed to a broad array of academic studies.

Over a thousand innovative schools across the country have already added significant time to their daily schedules, and they are slowly transforming the landscape of American public education. Early data shows an expanded schedule can improve students’ academic success while narrowing the socioeconomic “achievement gap,” and not surprisingly, other schools are beginning to follow their lead.

TIME TO LEARN takes an in-depth look at the benefits of an expanded schedule, and offers a step-by-step guide for transforming schools. This book is divided into four sections:

• Time for Core Academics - Focusing on mastering reading, writing and math, and bringing back such subjects as science, social studies and languages.
• Time for a Well-Rounded Education - Focusing on subjects that look at the whole child, extracurricular activities, homework and physical activity.
• Who Benefits from More Learning Time? – Focusing on how adults and children benefit from more time and how teachers and parents are embracing these changes.
• Transforming the School Day - Focusing on the practical with suggestions on how to change education policies as well as the nitty-gritty of how to create the new school day.

TIME TO LEARN reveals the many ways that parents, teachers, and policy makers can work together to provide adult mentorship and supervision to school-age children, decrease the "opportunity gap" that is so often apparent within diverse communities, and ensure a better education for all students.