Senator Edward M. Kennedy with Massachusetts 2020 co-founders Chris Gabrieli and Jennifer Davis, and John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.

Earlier this week, the Center for American Progress released a case study featuring Massachusetts’ bold new education initiative to close the achievement gap and improve student performance through a longer school day.  Massachusetts 2020, an education non-profit, is leading this initiative along with the state department of education.  Senator Edward M. Kennedy delivered the keynote address and encouraged education leaders across the country to use the report, The Massachusetts Expanding Learning Time to Support Student Success Initiative, and the lessons learned in Massachusetts as a national model for expanding the school day. 

"When it comes to education reform, Massachusetts has a long history and a pioneering spirit.  The extended learning initiative in Massachusetts can serve as a model for the nation on how to provide students with the extra time and opportunities they need to master 21st Century skills in a new, global economy," said Senator Kennedy.  "The federal government should lend support to these efforts so we can ensure that students have the time they need to master challenging subjects and new opportunities for enrichment - including art and music.  I commend Mass 2020 and the Center for American Progress for their work on this important initiative."

The fact that our educational system still operates much as it did 100 years ago on a schedule designed to meet the needs of our agrarian forefathers, and that the federal policy under No Child Left Behind calls for all students to be proficient in ELA and math by 2014, provided Mass 2020 the impetus to launch the Expanded Learning Time Initiative.  Massachusetts has become the first state to undertake a systemic initiative to significantly expand learning time as a strategy for improving student performance and closing the achievement gap.

The report recounts how the ELT Initiative moved from the research and planning stages in 2005 to a designation of $6.5 million in the state’s budget to expand the school day in 10 schools in five districts in the fall of 2006.  Massachusetts’ example also provides lessons on how traditional public schools can implement innovative reforms that call for the creative redesign of the current education system. 

The case study provides policymakers and advocates with critical information and early key lessons on expanded learning time, including the need to provide administrators, teachers, union leaders and school partners with adequate time for planning the expanded schedule as well as the need for continuous engagement and communication to all stakeholder groups. 

For communities, states, policymakers and philanthropies seeking to improve educational outcomes for their students, the report sheds light on these important lessons:

     -    How to redesign the schedule and educational program of
           schools adding significantly more learning time in order to
           increase student achievement;
     -    How to accelerate change in public systems;
     -    How to engage public policy leaders in innovative reform;
     -    How to involve teachers and unions from the start of the
           planning process;
     -    How to build capacity in low-performing schools; and
     -    How to leverage partnerships between schools, community
           groups and non-profits on behalf of students’ learning
           and development.

> Click here to read the full case study report by the Center for American Progress.

MA Increases Commitment to ELT: 29 Districts Receive Grants to Explore New School Day

Massachusetts has dramatically expanded its commitment to reinvent the school schedule by awarding $324,000 in Expanded Learning Time planning grants to 29 additional public school districts and 84 schools. These districts will spend up to two years exploring options for increasing academic and enrichment time for all students by at least 25 percent as well as increasing professional development time for teachers.  Thirty-six districts applied for this year's planning grants, up from 21 districts last year. 

Last year the state legislature allocated $6.5 million to expanding the school day at 10 schools in five districts serving more than 4,700 students resulting in each school receiving an additional $1,300 per student to significantly reconfigure the use of time during the day to improve student instruction and engagement.  To read more, click here.

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