Even though many European and Japanese students spend as many as 8 hours daily and 220 days yearly in the classroom, 661 American superintendents believe the present U.S. average--6 hours and 180 days--to be adequate, raising questions about their potential support in changing the system. (KS)

Describes Gunnison Watershed School District's alternative approach for shortening the school year via adding 26 minutes to each school day and thus eliminating 12 days from the standard 180 days required for meeting the required number of intructional hours. (AH)

Describes an extended school day program in the Dade County (Florida) schools that was tested on 4,000 Title I eligible elementary students. In all but one case, the pilot groups surpassed the achievement of children in regular Title I programs. (Author/IRT)

Murfreesboro (Tennessee) City Schools extended the school day and year with no additional cost to taxpayers. Implementation was arduous and faced great resistance. Eventual solution made better use of the school system's capital assets and human resources, rearranged Chapter 1 money, required additional business support and parents' willingness to…

Teachers must be aware of how the movement for educational reform will change the structure of their jobs. Major areas of concern are teacher certification, salaries, merit pay, standards, curricula, and length of school day. (DF)

Describes extended-day programs, including effect on low-achieving students, linkage to regular school day, staffing requirements and training, and program evaluation. (PKP)

Using data from a nationwide random sample for the 1976-1977 school year, this article studies effects of increasing the amount of math and reading instruction offered to third through sixth graders. All racial groups studied experienced diminishing returns at the observed amounts of instruction during the extended school day. Included are 3…

This second part of an article written a year ago describes a postpartum program for adolescent mothers which offers help to all participants in a prenatal program whether or not participants express a need for help. Services are offered on a home visit basis. (CM)

Only four states (New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California) have specific physical education requirements for all grades. This article argues for eliminating mandatory physical education programs as a cost-effective means of increasing instructional time and allowing more parental choice in determining their children's academic schedule.…

To determine 1999 Magna Award winners, judges looked for successful programs that were developed or actively supported by school boards, essential in promoting the district's mission and advancing student learning, bold and creative, and capable of being replicated. The grand prize winner was Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools' extended-day…

This article presents an interview with Dr. Gerald W. Bracey, author of "Reading Educational Research: How to Avoid Getting Statistically Snookered." During the interview, Bracey explains why he considers the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as a "weapon of mass destruction" and that he sees nothing to suggest that NCLB has…

Due to working parents, unsafe home conditions, and mass-media pressures, schools are becoming increasingly involved with providing child care for school-age children. While afterschool care poses a number of design, funding, and equity problems, schools and communities can resolve them to the great benefit of the children served. (MLH)

By lengthening school days and moving to a four-day school week, the Cimarron (New Mexico) School District not only saved energy and transportation costs but also won teacher, student, and parent approval and saw student scores rise on national standardized tests. (RW)

Describes seven features of effective summer schools from recent Southern Regional Education Board report with examples of state legislation in support of each of these features. For example, summer school should be an integral part of a year-round program of extra time and extra help. Includes description of relevant Kentucky, California,…

Discusses the disparity in academic achievement between African American males and males and females from other ethnic groups, recommending after school programs to provide services for addressing and decreasing these disparities. Notes policy issues affecting the targeted population, presents four programs that have successfully improved academic…