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…

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…

The paper describes the PROVE School, an alternative high school providing behavioral and academic programming using an extended school day concept for profoundly behavior disordered students in Proviso township, Maywood, Illinois. The extended day concept of crisis intervention (in which students are allowed to leave school for the day only when…

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…

This paper discusses the magnet school concept as a potential approach for achieving school desegregation while producing educational and social benefits for white and minority students alike. The author begins by reviewing the history of school desegregation in North Carolina from 1954 to the present, then briefly discusses the birth of…

This paper examines the anticipated advantages and disadvantages of a proposed trimester plan for a Birmingham (Alabama) high school. The proposed plan would maintain the usual length school year, simply dividing it into three "mesters", rather than the traditional two. The Birmingham trimester plan also would lengthen each class period…

This study was conducted to find out whether extending the kindergarten day with individualized curricula would produce differences in achievement great enough to warrant the increased cost. Two pilot studies were conducted in this large suburban school district, using kindergartens from four of 17 elementary schools. Two of the schools served…

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)

This skill packet presents training information on extended opportunities for student learning (before- and after-school programs, extended time, or extended school programs). The packet offers implementation suggestions, such as explaining what skills trainers need, how to prepare for delivering the packet, tips for working with adults, how to…

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

Past efforts to improve education have focused on curriculum and instruction. Some schools are pursuing more systemic year-round schooling and 4-day week reforms. The Waihe'e Elementary School and the Star of the Sea School, both in Hawaii, are implementing single-track plans for year-round schooling to improve academic achievement,…

The purpose of the 1991-92 Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools Full Day Kindergarten program was to improve the level of achievement of first-grade pupils by providing an additional half-day of kindergarten experience for 952 pupils in selected schools. This extra time allowed the students to participate in activities that were designed to enhance…