Building a Better School Day
A new report focuses on how schools are using federal incentives to add more learning time.
Emily Richmond Jan 17 2015, 9:00 AM
In a union vote Wednesday, Boston teachers approved the school district’s plan to add 40 minutes to each instructional day for kids in grades kindergarten through eight at more than 50 campuses. It’s a move experts say could help improve the quality of classroom teaching, boost student learning, and yield long-term benefits to the wider community.
But the plan, which goes next to the Boston school board for approval, isn’t without controversy. Earlier in the week The Boston Globe published its own review of a pilot program in the city that expanded learning time at about 40 campuses, finding mixed results. From the Globe’s story:
For many schools, a longer day has failed to dramatically boost academic achievement or did so only temporarily. The uneven results prompted school district officials to scrap the extra minutes at some schools and the state to pull funding or pursue receiverships at others.
But other schools have successfully used an extended day to boost MCAS scores or expand offerings in the arts and other electives. “I think there are lessons to be learned,” said John McDonough, interim superintendent. “We know time matters, but it only matters if it is used well.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/building-a-better-school-day/384607/
