San Francisco, Calif. — In a new WestEd Policy Perspectives paper, Christopher Gabrieli and Warren Goldstein propose using the "new school day" redesign strategy

--adding about two more hours of scheduled school every day -- as a way to help raise student academic achievement and ensure a well-rounded education. More than 1,000 schools nationwide have already reengineered the school day, many with promising results.

In "Expanding School Time to Expand School Learning: Lessons Learned and Challenges Remaining," Gabrieli and Goldstein draw upon their experience working with experimental district schools such as Achievable Dream Academy in Newport News, Virginia, charter schools such as the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Academies, and policy-driven reform movements such as the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative to identify the key elements of strong new day designs.

According to the authors, successful new day schools have their genesis in voluntary participation rather than a central office mandate, largely because the passion and commitment of school personnel and students' families drive success. Similarly, at the best new day schools, teachers and administrators commit to using data, including student achievement, social-emotional development, attendance, and engagement levels, to drive continuous quality improvement. In addition, staff are provided support and time for up front programmatic planning as well as ongoing dialogue and collaboration to improve their school.

Successful new day programs benefit students in several ways. While providing a clear academic focus, such schools also provide ample time for students to individualize their learning opportunities, such as with project-based, experiential, or small group learning.Students also have time to pursue a broad-based education that includes the arts, sports, and other forms of youth development.

"We are delighted that an increasing number of schools are replacing their outdated, 20th century traditional school schedule with one that addresses 21st century needs," says Christopher Gabrieli, Chairman of the National Center on Time and Learning. "Good jobs require high skills, contemporary family structures have changed, and young people have more opportunities to get into trouble after school than ever before. The new day approach successfully addresses these challenges."

Coauthor Warren Goldstein, History Department Chair at the University of Hartford, adds, "We have observed that when schools completely redesign themselves by adding hundreds of school hours per year rather than a few minutes a day, partnership opportunities with outside groups are suddenly possible. Both students and staff clearly benefit from the enriched education experience that partners can bring to schools."

The authors note that while the new day approach shows promise, further research and study are needed particularly regarding the cost of personnel, the role of summer in expanding learning time, and the extra complexities presented by high schools. In particular, policymakers need rigorous research into which time-oriented interventions work in which types of schools and for what curricular areas.

The free Policy Perspectives paper can be downloaded at http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/936

Twelve Features of Successful New Day Schools 1. Voluntary participation for schools 2. Mandatory participation for all students 3. Whole school redesign 4. Significantly expanded time 5. Clear academic focus 6. Well-rounded education 7. Data-driven continuous quality improvement 8. Time for teacher collaboration, planning, and professional development 9. Individualization for students 10. Time for up-front planning 11. Partnerships with outside resources 12. Starting with individual schools, building for scale

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About the Authors

Christopher Gabrieli is an entrepreneur in the business, public policy, and nonprofit arenas. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Massachusetts 2020, the first statewide effort to introduce the new school day. He is co-founder and co-chairman of the National Center on Time and Learning, which supports local and national public policy, works to research how schools expand time to strengthen learning, and provides technical assistance to schools, districts and states seeking to expand time for learning. Gabrieli can be reached at chrisandwarren@timeandlearning.org

Warren Goldstein, chair of the University of Hartford's History department, is an award-winner scholar who has received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Louisville Institute. A contributing essayist for the Chronicle of Higher, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement and many other periodicals, he blogs at http://www.TrueBlueBlogger.org. Goldstein can be reached at chrisandwarren@timeandlearning.org

This Policy Perspectives paper was excerpted from the authors' book, Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, 2008).

About WestEd

WestEd, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has 16 offices nationwide, from Washington and Boston to Arizona and California. Its corporate headquarters are in San Francisco. More information about WestEd is available at WestEd.org.