District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

School Redesign: Expanded Learning Time Initiative

The November 27, 2007 Board of Education meeting is being held at the Ferryway School in Malden to highlight the school's participation in the Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiative. The Board will hear an update on the growth of the ELT initiative statewide, with an additional focus on the implementation in Malden. Panelists for this discussion will include Sarah McLaughlin of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Jennifer Davis of Massachusetts 2020; Mayor Richard C. Howard, Chairperson of the Malden School Committee; Sidney Smith, Superintendent of Schools in Malden; and Thomas DeVito, Principal of the Ferryway School.

Overview

The Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiative began in FY06 when planning grants were first included in the state budget. The planning grant program is intended to support districts' activities in planning for longer school days, a longer school year, or both, as part of a redesign strategy to raise student achievement. The grants awarded by the Board of Education provide resources for districts to plan for innovative redesign in selected schools that would offer all students more time for challenging, research-based, and varied learning experiences. At the end of the planning grant period, districts submit ELT Implementation plans to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Based on review and approval of the plans, the Department awards grants to districts so that the qualifying schools can implement their plans to expand learning time for students and teachers.

The School Redesign: Expanded Learning Time initiative intends to add at least 25% more time to school schedules in order to:

• Provide students with more core instructional opportunity in math, literacy, science and other core subjects to support student achievement;

• Integrate enrichment and applied learning opportunities into the school day to motivate and engage students; and

• Provide educators with increased opportunity to plan together and to participate in professional development with other teachers and in collaboration with their partnering community-based organizations.

Implementation of ELT redesigns began in FY07 when the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded grants of $1300 per student to schools in five districts. The Legislature appropriated $6.5 million for the ELT initiative, enabling ten schools in five districts to open in September 2006 with a substantially longer school day. This appropriation enabled the Board also to fund an additional 29 districts to join in a second round of planning to explore whether and how they would expand schedules for schools in their communities.

The FY08 state budget included a $13 million appropriation for ELT. (A copy of the line item is enclosed for your information.) Currently 18 schools in eight districts are operating redesigned schools with expanded learning time. Four of the five districts that participated in the first year of the initiative expanded the number of redesigned schools in the district in year two. Three districts are new to the ELT initiative this year. Most of the implementing schools have longer school days although several schools have added days to the school year. All schools have expanded their previous schedule by at least 25% more time. For example, a school that currently has a six hour and twenty-five minute school day may redesign a new eight-hour day for students. The chart below includes all schools currently receiving ELT funding.

The Board of Education approved a new round of ELT planning grants at its October 2007 meeting, awarding 37 grants for new and continued planning activities. 28 districts (targeting 67 schools that have not previously received planning grants) applied for new FY08 planning grants. While several schools are proposing September 2008 start-ups, most intend to do an extended planning process for possible September 2009 start-up.

Evaluation

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has contracted with Abt Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to conduct a comprehensive, multi-year evaluation of the ELT initiative. The evaluation is designed to elicit information on factors affecting implementation and, ultimately, on program impact. Student performance, as measured by MCAS, will be reviewed over several years to enable the evaluators to reliably draw conclusions about the effects of additional time in the participating schools. A report on the first year of implementation is anticipated in January 2008.

In October 2007, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with Abt Associates, submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. If awarded, the grant would be used to build upon and expand our current evaluation. The Department expects to receive official notification from IES in May. If our application is successful, we anticipate a July 1st grant start date.

Partnerships

Massachusetts 2020 (Mass2020) has been an integral partner in the development of the ELT initiative. Mass 2020 has been able to provide much-needed technical assistance, not only to districts planning to establish ELT schools, but to those implementing the redesign as well. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Mass2020 work together to ensure that the message and support to the schools and districts are consistent, by holding regular leadership meetings with Acting Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus and Mass2020 Chairman Chris Gabrieli.

Recognizing the need to have clear expectations for the current implementing schools, Mass 2020 has contracted with the organization Focus on Results to help guide the creation of essential documents and tools designed to outline expectations for implementation. Mass 2020 and the Department, with facilitation support from Focus on Results, established clear goals and expectations, as well as a self-assessment tool, for schools to reflect on and gauge their progress. This tool will be piloted with a subset of the ELT schools this winter.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has also fostered a strong working relationship with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). In order to ensure a seamless system for children and parents, EEC has provided flexibility to its child care providers allowing them to amend their hours of care when working with children who attend ELT schools. EEC has also provided Department staff with information about childcare providers in each ELT planning district to facilitate early outreach. EEC and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education orchestrated a data match last year to evaluate and analyze the overlap of students attending ELT schools who also receive childcare vouchers.

Upcoming

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is co-hosting an ELT Summit on November 30, 2007 at UMASS Boston. This third annual event will include remarks from Governor Patrick, Commissioner Nellhaus, and Chairman Reville as well as breakout sessions for both implementing and planning districts. Information about the conference is enclosed.

Enclosures:

	School Redesign: Expanded Learning Time
	Massachusetts 2020: Partnership Responsibilities
	Conference information: Nov. 30, 2007