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| Longer School Days: The Key to Charter School Success? |
| posted by: Cindy Omlin | August 13, 2012, 05:30 PM |
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One of the most debated aspects of school reform has been whether or not to change the traditional school calendar. Currently, most of the country's traditional district schools operate on the five-day school week with summers off, a system largely based on a century-old farm calendar that has little significance for the majority of American students. As reformers seek to find a schedule that works for all students, many are pointing to the longer schools days and yearlong school terms of successful charter schools as the new model for student success. Although yearlong schedules and longer schools days are not exclusive to public charter schools, research suggests that the innovative system is more common in the charter environment. According to the National Center on Time and Learning, about 170 schools nationally — more than 140 of them charter schools —have extended their calendars in recent years to 190 days or longer. The longer school day trend began after President Obama and the Department of Education championed the policy as a viable reform for American schools in 2010. President Obama has spoken favorably of lengthening the school year, pointing out that some of the world's top performing countries mandate more class time than the United States does. As Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated recently, "The fact that our calendar has been based on the agrarian economy when almost none of our kids work in the field anymore, doesn't make any sense whatsoever." Obama administration officials also contend that low-income students need extra time to catch up to competitors. National Center on Time and Learning Chairman Chris Gabrieli said the policy is worth exploring but can prove complicated. "It's not as simple as 'Oh, if we just went 12 hours every kid would be Einstein,'" he stressed. "On the other hand, the more time you spend practicing or preparing to do something, the better you get at it." Academic research has yielded mixed results for longer school days and yearlong school calendar. Still, some of the most successful charter schools operate under non-traditional schedules. The highly successful Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Academies start the school day at 7:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., with Saturday school twice a month and at least three weeks of mandatory summer school. The extra time allows schools to offer additional classes and the results speak for themselves. Nationally, more than 85% of KIPP students have gone onto college. As the policy continues to gain favor in the U.S., adherents contend that expanding the day can be an effective tool; however, adding more time isn't a magic bullet. "We need to make sure we're doing all we can to use time smarter and more efficiently before simply demanding more of it," said AEI's Frederick M. Hess. What do you think about the longer school day model? Comment below.
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