Five Districts To Implement Expanded Learning Time This Fall

Malden - Five districts have had their plans to extend the days in some schools approved, meaning that students in 10 different schools will begin spending more time in class this September.

Boston, Cambridge, Fall River, Malden and Worcester were among the 21 districts that applied for the state's first-ever Expanded Learning Time grants last September. In all, 16 districts were offered $25,000 planning grants in October and eight submitted implementation plans in April. Of the finalists, five plans were accepted this month.

The state's FY07 budget includes $6.5 million for the ELT grants.

"These districts are undertaking the enormous challenge of completely redesigning the school day," said Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll. To do this right they will have to not just add time to the school day, but rethink their teaching practices, curricula and what they can do to better engage each child in their learning. This is an exciting initiative and I look forward to seeing the results in each school."

The schools that will be impacted are:

The School Redesign: Expanded Learning Time to Support Student Success grants were offered to provide the resources needed for districts to think creatively about how to redesign their school day and/or school year to offer students more time in class and teachers more time for professional development.

To qualify, districts were required to expand the hours and/or days of operation in their schools by at least 30 percent for all students.

Key components of the expanded schedule in the five districts will include increased time for hands-on, experiential learning in core academic subjects, the addition of art and physical education offerings, and increased planning and professional development opportunities for educators. Some schools plan to change their schedules to increase core academic blocks from between 45 and 60 minutes to up to 90 minutes, allowing for more project-based and hands-on opportunities for students.