Extended Learning Time FAQs

Research and experience suggest that more time in school delivers five broad benefits to teaching and learning. First, more time allows for more "time on task" because longer days usually mean longer class periods and longer classes give teachers the flexibility to allow students to spend more time practicing and working with particular information and ideas. Second, teachers can delve more deeply into subject matter because, with longer class time, they are able to explore the same amount of content as in shorter class, but in a number of contexts and applications. Third, classes like art, music and gym can be re-included in the day after they have been squeezed out over the last few years. These subjects broaden students' educational experiences and engage children in learning who may not find core academic subjects as approachable. Fourth, more time allows for greater interaction between teacher and student and deeper relationships between teacher and student, not surprisingly, usually promote higher academic achievement. Finally, a longer day enables schools to build in time reserved for teachers to engage in common planning and on-site professional development, which, research shows, has the greatest impact on teachers' effectiveness and, in turn, on students' proficiency.

2. What does research say about adding time to the school day?

Time, by itself, does not lead to improvements in education. Just like money, time must be used well, and educators must understand its benefits and pitfalls, if it is to have an impact on teaching and learning. A fine review of the literature by WestED called, "Is It Just a Matter of Time?", describes three kinds of time spent in school: (a) allocated time, or how much total time is in the school day (b) engaged time, or how much time is allotted for core academic subjects (c) academic learning time, or how much time teachers and students spend focused on learning content. Research has found that only when schools increase the amount of academic learning time will students actually learn more. As a result, in the school re-design process, educators must continually focus not only on how they will add more time to the schedule and add more time to individual classes, but also work diligently within classrooms and enrichment activities to ensure that all students are actively developing skills or acquiring knowledge. By the same token, without additional allocated time available, schools are limited in how much academic learning time they can add within the current school schedule.

3. How does the amount of time American children spend learning compare to that of children in other countries?

There is a good deal of misinformation about the length of the school day and year in other countries. To clarify some of the conflicting reports, the following is a table with some of the key information on school year, school day and total learning time, as reported in aggregate by students and teachers. No set of aggregate data will capture all the nuances of the educational landscape, but at least the table allows for an apples-to-apples comparison. The table shows that the U.S. falls near the bottom in total number of instructional hours and somewhere in the middle of the pack in time spent on homework. Data are drawn from the highly respected Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a non-governmental organization which includes 46 member countries. (More data can be found at www.oecd.org/edu/eag2005.) Countries listed are those to which American students are often compared and are arranged alphabetically.

Country	Instructional Hours/Week	Hrs. of Remedial + Enrichment Classes/Week	Instructional Weeks/Year	Total Annual Learning Hours in School	Total Hrs. Homework/ Week
Australia	24.14	1.19	38.6	977.74	5.70
Canada	23.59	1.87	n/a	n/a	5.64
Czech Republic	23.58	0.67	41.0	994.25	3.80
France	24.79	0.80	37.8	967.30	6.80
Germany	22.60	0.73	39.7	1,015.92	6.26
Hungary	23.90	0.92	36.6	908.41	9.95
Ireland	27.39	0.92	33.1	937.06	7.73
Japan	23.84	1.98	38.9	1,004.40	3.82
Korea	30.28	6.79	35.6	1,319.69	3.49
Mexico	24.16	7.10	23.9	747.11	5.85
Turkey	23.10	4.90	35.7	999.60	8.90
U.S.	22.21	2.94	36.0	905.40	5.68

WHAT EXPANDED TIME WILL LOOK LIKE

4. Does adding 25% more time to the school day mean just "more of the same"?

No. In fact, the Department of Education has entitled the planning grant itself the "School Re-Design" grant because the intent of the program is to encourage districts and schools to not just tack on some additional programming on to the end of the day, but to re-design the entire school day or year. Each applying district is free to develop its own design. Such re-design will likely mean that schools will extend class time for core academic subjects to make sure that all students understand the content in class. But it will also enable schools to bring back enrichment-type programs that have been squeezed out of the day in the last few years. Classes like art, music, physical education, and even clubs like chess and newspaper can now all be part and parcel of the school day, giving students a broader educational experience and enhancing a wider range of skills. And these classes and activities can take place throughout the day and not just be tacked on to the end of the day. In addition, more time will enable schools to build in time for individualized instruction – both embedded within longer class periods and in separately designated periods for tutoring and homework help.

5. Will students get to choose if they attend for the additional time?

Some students and families in districts where school choice is an option may choose to transfer to other schools, but the intent of this reform is that all enrolled students must attend for the re-designed school schedule – a schedule that is 25% more than the current one. The basic idea behind this stipulation is that all students will benefit from expanded learning time with more enrichment opportunities and a more comprehensive educational experience.

6. What is the role of parents in designing the new school day?

As with any major change to the schools, parental input and buy-in is essential. Each district has its own means for including parents in the decisions it must make. For example, in some districts parent surveys have been administered and in many others parent informational meetings have been held. We encourage parents to become engaged in the process and make their views known to administrators and teachers.

IMPACT ON CHILD'S SCHEDULE

7. Will a longer school day interfere with my child's after-school activities or sports teams?

This is a possibility, but there are ways to avoid such a situation. First, in adding 25% more time to the school schedule, this means that in most cases, the school day will not extend much beyond 3:45 or 4:00. (School days now typically end between 2:00 and 2:30.) As such, there is still time before dinner to participate in after-school activities or sports practices and games. Second, and more important, schools are working hard to embed many "after-school" type activities – like musical instrument lessons, art and intramural sports teams – within the school day. In fact, a longer school day is a means to combine the best features of after-school programs (that is, learning that is based on true student interest and engagement) with the best of school (that is, an intentional focus on learning and development). This integrated model is what most elite private schools employ.

8. Will a longer school day infringe upon family time?

As noted above, a longer day in most cases will mean that a student's school day will end by 4:00, long before the dinner hour and time spent with family in the evening. Also, students may well arrive home with less total homework to complete in the late afternoon and evening because time for homework assistance may be built in to the school day. Finally, it is worth considering the increase of school time in perspective. With a calendar of 180 six-hour days, children spend only 20% of their waking hours in school. Expanded Learning Time school schedules – a 25% increase of their time in school – will increase students' time spent in school by just 6% of their overall waking hours.

9. Is it unfair to impose a longer schedule on my child who already does well in school?

Extending the school day offers much more than helping children to achieve proficiency on MCAS or get better grades. It is about recognizing that if the next generation of Americans hopes to thrive in the modern economy, they will need a host of skills – communication, teamwork, problem solving and others – that children in the past may not have needed to get good jobs. Unfortunately, the school schedule that is in place today was designed originally to meet the needs of nineteenth-century farmers. While today's curriculum has taken large steps forward to help students prepare for the jobs and responsibilities of modern society, the ability of schools to teach this curriculum has been hampered by the outdated schedule in which teachers are unable to cover all the material adequately. The result is that today's students are not fully served by the schools that are supposed to be preparing them for a productive future. It is also interesting to note that most private schools, which generally serve a high-performing student body, usually operate with a significantly longer day in order to incorporate more class time and in order to allow every student to participate in sports and extracurricular activities.

10. Will my child get more homework as a result of a longer school day?

It is possible that, as part of the re-design process, a school will re-consider homework policies and may decide that it should modify the types or amount of homework given to students. At the same time, it is also likely that a re-designed schedule will build in time for homework assistance from teachers or teachers' aides during the regular school day so that students will arrive home having completed more of their homework than they did in a six-hour school day.

MECHANICS OF EXTENDED TIME

11. How and when will funding be made available for implementing the school redesign?

One of the stipulations of the planning process is that districts should assume that they will receive up to $1,300 per student enrolled in the expanded-time schools. So, for a school of 400 students, for example, the district will receive an additional $520,000 on top of the disbursement it already receives in state funding for its schools. For the money for implementation of expanded learning time schools to be available in September 2006, the line item needs to be adopted into the state budget for Fiscal Year 2007. In his budget submitted to the legislature on January 31, 2006, Governor Mitt Romney recommended $15 million to fund the implementation of the expanded-time schools. In addition, many legislative leaders and the Department of Education have already expressed strong support for full implementation of the expanded learning time schools.

12. Will teachers be compensated for additional time?

The particulars of teacher compensation for working additional hours are worked out at the district level and will, undoubtedly, involve serious negotiations between representatives of the union and of the district administration. Districts generally plan to pay teachers more but the specific rates are under negotiation. It is important to note that 25 percent more time for students does not necessarily require 25 percent more time for all teachers. Staggering teachers' working hours and adding staff and partnering with community-based organizations are also options for consideration.

13. Will teachers get to choose if they teach for additional hours and days?

These details will be decided at the district level.

14. How will extending the school day and year affect transportation to and from school?

Each district will need to re-negotiate its contract with its transportation provider to fit the extended learning time schedule. In most cases, bus routes will just be scheduled for later in the day.