From Mayor Daley to Education Secretary Arne Duncan to President Obama, there is a drumbeat to extend the school day and year to keep schools open as community centers, providing more learning times to children and their families. Moreover, leading educators point out that teachers in the US spend three times fewer hours in professional learning and collaboration than do their peers in higher achieving countries.
With just 308 minutes of instruction each day, Chicago has one of the shortest school days in the country. At 170 days, its school year is 10 days shorter than the national average.
Luncheon 1: Is More Time the Wave of the Future? (Oct. 28)
Listen to the audio taped by WBEZ for its Chicago Amplified program.
Jennifer Davis, Co-founder of Massachusetts 2020 and President of the National Center on Time and Learning, reviews the national scene–the research, stakeholders, revenue streams, and issues. Download Jennifer Davis’ presentation [PDF].
Response:
Erica Harris, Officer, CPS Office of Extended Learning Opportunities, talks about how time fits into CPS’s strategy and what the district is doing to extend it. Download Erica Harris’ presentation [PDF].
Timothy Knowles, Lewis-Sebring Director of the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago, raises the issues that policy-makers and schools must address if additional time is to be used wisely.
Luncheon 2: How More Time Can Ignite Change? (Nov. 19)
Jeffrey Riley, former principal of one of the highest performing extended learning time schools in Massachusetts, will explain how his school used time as a lever for reform, the results and the roadblocks. He now oversees Boston’s middle schools as they participate in the Extended Learning Time Initiative.
Response:
Robin Johnson, principal, L.E.A.R.N. Excel Charter School and Paul O’Toole, principal, Marquette Elementary School, a regular CPS school, will describe why and how their respective schools extended the school day for all students and the results thus far.
Luncheon 3: Marrying Schools and After-School Time? (Jan. 21)
Mary Ellen Caron, Chicago commissioner for Youth and Children Services, oversees the Chicago Out-of-School Learning Time Project. She will discuss efforts to build a stronger, more integrated and more accessible after-school system.
Response:
Suzanne Armato, executive director of the Federation of Community Schools, will describe the key elements of community schools, results to date and the Federation’s perspective on the challenges of connecting schools and after-school time in Chicago.
Lila Leff, executive director of Umoja Student Development Corporation, and Sean Stalling, a new CPS chief area officer and former principal of Manley High School, will explain how they worked together to create a fundamentally different approach to student development.
VIDEO on expanded learning time in Massachusetts
NEW REPORT from the Center for American Progress:
Union and District Partnerships to Expand Learning Time: Three Schools’ Experiences
| All luncheons are held at the Union League Club of Chicago
65 W. Jackson Boulevard, Main Lounge 11:30 a.m. – noon registration Price: $35 per luncheon To register, call 312-641-5570, ext. 241. |
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Series organizers: Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) and Catalyst Chicago
Series sponsors: McDougal Family Foundation, Oppenheimer Family Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Union League Club of Chicago.