Congress has the opportunity to move forward on education reform by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, to ensure all children achieve their greatest potential. Unfortunately, it has yet to find the will to do so, to the detriment of American students and schools. ESEA is the largest and most significant federal…

Heather B. Weiss and Priscilla D. Little of the Harvard Family Research Project suggest seven possible approaches to strengthening OST (Out-of-School) organizations, including methods to ensure that OST providers become stronger partners with other groups and more adept advocates for their field. Strategies discussed include: (1) Cultivate…

The OEYP state-funded program provides extended learning for students who are at risk of academic failure. This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's OEYP activities during 2008-2009.

There are only a handful of formal studies that examined the impact of changes in school starting time on student learning and behavior. The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota is a leader in this research and identified the impact of changes in school starting times across the school,…

This paper provides an overview of the 4-day school week being utilized by 36 school districts in Colorado. These districts, which tend to be rural and sparsely populated, schedule 7.5 hours per day for 144 days of school instead of the normal 6 hours for 180 days. Colorado law requires school districts to schedule 1,080 hours per year of…

School districts are scurrying to meet the demand for extended-day programs offering students varied services, including homework help, tutoring, remedial work, academic enrichment, and arts and crafts. Funding can be obtained from outsourcing, federal grants, and local tax support. (MLH)

This report summarizes the statewide evaluation of Utah's year-round and extended-day schools, two scheduling models developed to expand the capacity of existing school facilities to serve the needs of a burgeoning student population in some Utah school districts. When asked about their family's experience with year-round education, a substantial…

Disputes the assertions made in "A Nation at Risk" that extended school days and years would be beneficial and that more stringent academic requirements should be adopted. Asserts that the National Commission on Excellence in Education fails to understand both foreign educational systems and American educational needs and values. (PGD)

The All Day Kindergarten Program was instituted in the Columbus Public Schools in January, 1972, for the purpose of providing a full day of instruction for underachieving kindergarten pupils. The 1982-83 program goal was that the average language/reading growth of pupils in program attendance for at least 80 percent of the instructional period…

A preliminary analysis of the impact of the seven-period school day found that a seven-period schedule allows small high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland to offer almost as many courses as larger six-period schools and allows their students to enroll in more courses, particularly in academic areas. It further concluded that students took…

An evaluation was made of the language development component of Columbus, Ohio's All Day Kindergarten Program (ADKP). The ADKP was instituted in Columbus' public schools in January, 1972, to provide a full day of instruction for underachieving kindergarten pupils. The overall goal of the program was to prepare pupils for first grade by providing…

Math and reading achievement scores were compared for extended day (ED) and non-extended day (NED) children in grades 1-3 of the Phillips Extended Day Magnet Program. In the before school (7:00-8:15 a.m.) and after school (2:45-6:00 p.m.) hours, ED children participated in an enrichment and remediation program in the core areas of math/science,…

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.…

A review of research on the feasibility of extending the school day/year is the purpose of this report. The first section discusses the outcomes of such proposals since April 1983 and concludes that they have failed to generate widespread acceptance. The second part assesses the validity of international comparisons used to justify such proposals.…

Since 1991, the National Education Commission on Time and Learning has been examining the quality and adequacy of student learning time. Innovations being considered address provision of additional learning opportunities, children's well-being, employee productivity concerns, and efficient use of school facilities. Promising practices include the…