Findings of a study that investigated the impact of a 4-day school week in an Idaho suburban school district (Shelley School District) are presented in this paper. Data were derived from: (1) surveys of all district stakeholders, which included 2,039 K-12 students, 492 parents, 103 teachers, and 85 support staff; (2) a comparison of…

The National Education Commission on Time and Learning (NECT&L) is authorized by Public Law 102-62, the Education Council Act of 1991. The Commission is holding a series of hearings across the United States to examine the quality and adequacy of study and learning time of elementary and secondary students. This paper summarizes the evening…

This document provides the final evaluation report of the language development component of the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools' Chapter 1 All-Day Kindergarten Program for 1989-1990. The overall goal of the program was to prepare underachieving kindergarten children for first grade. A total of 17 teachers in 17 elementary schools participated in…

Argues that instead of lengthening school days and years, schools should efficiently include rescheduling school days to include solely academic courses and instituting mastery learning. (JW)

New trends and emphases in education--increased individualization of instruction, new content for school programs, deeper parental and community involvement, and extension of the school's scope to include preschool and exceptional children--all call for more effective professional development programs in the education of teachers. (JD)

The move to lengthen school days with afterschool programs has support from Democrats and Republicans. Supporters of afterschool programs include child care professionals who believe young children need more supervision, educators who believe children need more academic instruction, and politicians who believe teens need more structured…

Reducing educational services, including community education, does not appear to be an effective method of reducing energy consumption. Increasing efficiency in existing services reduces energy consumption more effectively. (Author/MLF)

Extended-day education programs may serve a variety of purposes for children and their parents, from providing a safe recreation environment to academic enrichment, but the most often-cited purpose of these programs is providing adult supervision of children. The increased labor force participation of mothers with young children--married or…

This document presents 17 philosophical statements regarding school-age care programs, staff, and challenges. The essence of school-age care is to understand childhood and to facilitate positive development. Because these programs provide a place where children have significant contact with adults within a multi-age peer group, they can teach…

Reviews current psychological research on the effects of time, discusses policy and practical implications, and proposes "productive time" rather than "allocated time" or "time-on-task" as a new focus of educational reform. Productive time allows students to engage in lessons adjusted to their differences in learning rate and background knowledge.…

Provides background and reviews research for "time-on-task" oriented approaches to instructional effectiveness. Following an examination of four possible approaches to increasing a student's active learning time, the author cautions that the relationship of time to learning is a complex one involving a number of variables. (JBM)

A review of factors diminishing instructional time concludes with the estimate that less than 30 percent of the average school day is devoted to instruction. Rather than extending the school day or year, more efficient time management and reevaluation of the urgency of noninstructional activities are recommended. (MJL)

Afterschool programs are increasingly viewed as one viable way of bridging the gap between the end of the school day and the time parents get home from work. This digest briefly discusses why afterschool programs are needed, what potential benefits may be, what challenges may affect the viability of programs, what factors are identified with…

This booklet is part of a series of reports on "hot topics" in education. It explores alternative school schedules as ways to make education be the best it can for all students. Block scheduling, 4-day school weeks, and year-round education are alternative scheduling methods that generate interest in schools in the northwestern United…