New Brief: Expanding and Enriching Learning Time for All

Posted by on August 31, 2009

Here at TASC, we are starting the new school year with a call to action. We’re calling for more schools to expand the learning day, for policymakers to support more time for enrichments as well as academics, and for Congress to pass the TIME (Time for Innovation Matters in Education) Act of 2009 to help kids whose learning is limited by outdated school schedules.

These recommendations (and more) are contained in a newly published policy brief from TASC, “ELT: Expanding and Enriching Learning Time for All.” In it, we share lessons for educators and community organizations from the first year of the Expanded Learning Time / New York City initiative. TASC partners with the New York City Department of Education and the Department of Youth and Community Development in this initiative to expand learning time by at least 30 percent in 10 pilot schools. We believe that the lessons learned from Year One of this project are applicable not only to New York City, but to schools, school systems, and organizations across the nation.

We hope that you will take the time to read this new brief and share it with your members. Please visit the TASC Web site to download the report (http://www.tascorp.org/content/document/detail/2575/) and to learn more about the ELT / NYC initiative (http://www.tascorp.org/section/what_we_do/develop_program_models/elt_nyc).

Thank you for everything you do to support, educate and inspire kids. Happy back to school!