May 5, 2009

Media Contacts:
Blair Brown, 617-378-3921
blair@mass2020.org
Laura Barrett, 617-878-8267
lbarrett@massteacher.org

New Policy Report Identifies Time as the Most Important Factor Affecting Learning and Highlights Impact of Massachusetts’ Expanding Learning Time Initiative on Students and Teachers

On National Teacher Day, Report Highlights Need to Listen to Teachers When Considering Far-reaching Education Innovation

(Boston) Today, as the country celebrated National Teacher Day, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts and Massachusetts 2020 released a new policy report that identifies time as the single most important teaching condition for promoting learning and highlights the impact the state’s Expanded Learning Time Initiative is having on teachers and students. The report was released today at the State House at an event hosted by Representative Martha Walz and Senator Robert O’Leary, co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Education both of whom made opening remarks.

Massachusetts is leading the nation with the first-ever statewide initiative to let public schools systematically add significant time and rethink the school calendar from the ground up. “Massachusetts is ready to be a model for the nation with our expanded learning time initiative,” said Representative Marty Walz (D-Boston). “By listening to our teachers, we know they need more time to collaborate with their peers and work with their students. We are showing what can be accomplished when we add more time to the school day and school year.”

In his comments, Senator Robert O’Leary (D-Barnstable) noted the support the House of Representatives recently gave the Expanded Learning Time Initiative, “At a time when the state budget is unraveling, I am very pleased at what the House did with education funding. Expanded Learning Time is a commonsense approach to improving education in the Commonwealth.”

Using newly available data, the brief highlights one of the great dilemmas teachers face because of the constraints of the current school schedule. While teachers across Massachusetts identify time as the single most important teaching condition for promoting learning , fewer than 40% feel they have enough time to meet the needs of all students or even just to complete the curriculum. The brief uses data collected from Expanded Learning Time (ELT) schools and matched control schools as well as the MassTeLLS project, a collaboration among many education groups and the Commonwealth, that surveyed more than 40,000 teachers across Massachusetts about teaching and learning conditions.

The data also shows how expanding time makes a difference for teachers and students. The news is very encouraging. According to the surveys, there is nearly a 50% increase in the portion of teachers in ELT schools who feel time is now adequate to the curriculum and the needs of all students. Teachers at ELT schools also report that expanding learning time is improving opportunities for enrichment, raising academic achievement and improving student attitudes towards school work and students’ motivation, engagement and relationships.

The ELT Initiative has enabled 22 schools in 11 communities across the Commonwealth to add 300 hours to their school year and are providing more time for academic instruction, enrichment and teacher collaboration. In his remarks, Tom Gosnell, president of the AFT Massachusetts, said, “In addition to helping academic achievement, ELT allows more time for vital programs such as art and music that speak to a child’s soul and allow them to engage more deeply in school. Expanded Learning Time is helping schools connect better with students and has the potential to help these students escape poverty.”

Over the last few years, Massachusetts has been the national leader in the effort to rethink what school can be if teachers and students had more time. Now with interest growing in other states and at the federal level, this new report shows how favorably teachers view the Massachusetts ELT model and how this initiative should be used as an example for other policymakers, teachers unions, and legislators as they consider how to expand and redesign the school day and year. In her closing address to the audience, Anne Wass, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, noted the importance of listening to teachers when considering education innovation. “As policymakers at the federal and state level are looking at innovation, I hope they pay attention to an innovation that the teachers support – Expanded Learning Time is an innovation that can be replicated across the country quickly and easily and should be expanded here in the Commonwealth.“

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About AFT Massachusetts
AFT Massachusetts led the fight for collective bargaining in the 1960's and leads the fight today for education reform and the preservation of our public schools. Our 43 local chapters represent more than 22,000 members across the state, including public school teachers, paraprofessionals, public school nurses and clerical staff. For more information please visit www.aftma.net.

About the Massachusetts Teachers Association
The Massachusetts Teachers Association is the largest union in the Commonwealth, representing more than 107,000 educators in nearly 400 local affiliates. The MTA is dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of its members and improving the quality of public education provided to students througout the Massachusetts, from preschool through graduate school. The MTA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. For more information please visit www.massteacher.org.

About Massachusetts 2020
Massachusetts 2020 is a non-profit based in Boston, Massachusetts with a mission to expand educational and economic opportunities for children and families across Massachusetts. Massachusetts 2020 is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education to lead the Expanded Learning Time Initiative, with support from the state legislature. Massachusetts 2020 works directly with superintendents, teachers, parents, community organization partners, and unions to help reshape the American school calendar. Launched in 2005, the vision of the ELT Initiative is to equip all students with the skills, knowledge and leadership abilities required for full participation in the economic and civic life of our 21st century global society. For more information, please visit www.mass2020.org.