A teacher at the Martin Luther King School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was having no luck getting the concept of patterns across to 1st graders. Despite her attempts to demonstrate the universality of patterns—pointing to the design on her shirt, reminding the children of number sequences—students had not grasped the concept by the end of the math class. Fortunately, the school's newly instituted expanded day afforded this teacher enough flexibility and planning time to try a new strategy right away. During her planning period that day, she consulted with the school's math coach and worked out a new unit that put patterns into a context students could understand. During a science class a few days later, she brought students outside to collect leaves and natural objects. Back in the classroom, they arranged these objects into intentional designs. At the end of the lesson, a student who had earlier failed to grasp the fundamentals of patterns declared with confidence, “Now I see. Patterns are everywhere.”
This small victory reflects much larger changes afoot at the Martin Luther King School. The school, a sprawling two-story building less than a mile from Harvard University, is a fairly typical urban school. Of the approximately 250 students at the K–8 public school, 70 percent qualify for free or reducedprice lunch and 80 percent are students of color. Over the last few years, students' scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System have shown steady upward progress, but the school still has a long way to travel to achieve universal proficiency: In 2006, fewer than 50 percent of students in any grade reached proficiency in any tested subject. The school has made adequate yearly progress in English/language arts but not yet in math. In the hope of increasing student achievement and bringing its vision of providing a well-rounded education to life, this typical urban school began an atypical school year this fall, with students attending school from 7:40 a.m. to 3:55 p.m.
The Martin Luther King School is one of 10 Massachusetts public schools that have added at least two hours to its school day in the 2006–07 school year, through a program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education. The schools participating in this Expanded Learning Time initiative serve 4,700 students across five school districts with demographic and academic profiles similar to the King School. Each school has implemented the expanded day differently, but each one has added time in language arts, math, and science.
For all the schools, the lengthening of the school day has enabled teachers to deepen curricular and enrichment opportunities and provided exposure to hands-on learning that urban students might otherwise miss out on. For instance, students at Umana-Barnes Middle School in Boston now choose from more than 40 enrichment programs, such as digital photography, ceramics, and apprenticeships with local businesses. Jose Salgado, principal of Umana-Barnes, says, “We have the chance now to close not only the achievement gap, but also the opportunity gap.”
Planning and Logistics
Led by principal Carole Learned-Miller, the Martin Luther King School has, as the state intended, used this opportunity to entirely restructure its schedule and redesign its program. The transformation of the Martin Luther King School began when the school convened a planning team composed of the principal, teachers, parents, and community partners. The team identified aspects of the school's program that could and should change if the school added 30 percent more time to the day.
Because test scores indicated that students needed more help in math, language arts, and science, the school added 30 minutes each day to all math and English/language arts classes. Science classes now meet two additional times each week. Science had all but been eliminated at the school; students would now be able to study this subject for almost an hour every day. The school also chose to provide more time for enrichment activities and for shared planning and professional development for teachers.
To facilitate the expanded day, the King School offered teachers the option to work extended hours and earn a pension-eligible pay raise, using funds from the Massachusetts Department of Education grant. Twelve of the 15 core academic teachers opted to work these additional hours. The school also used grant money to pay for a handful of representatives from community organizations to come to the school to teach enrichment classes. Teachers of art, music, and other specialized classes adjusted their schedules to fit within the eight-hour day.
The Early Benefits: Deepening Content
The first days of the new schedule at King School were tinged with anxiety. Teachers were concerned that, despite wide publicity about the new schedule, students would show up at the old start time. They also feared that students might not be able to handle longer blocks of time in classrooms, and they were unsure what it would be like to teach longer periods.
After only a few days, however, teachers realized that the new time frame enabled all learners to dig deeper into content. As one teacher put it, “The expanded day allows time to pursue teachable moments.” Academic classes look and feel different. The additional 30 minutes each day in math and English enable teachers to integrate project-based learning into the curriculum. Project-based, constructivist learning has always been the aim of the King School; now that approach is truly possible.
In math, for example, teachers are now able to make fuller use of the TERC Investigations curriculum, an activity-based program that encourages students to think creatively, develop problem-solving strategies, and work cooperatively. Teachers at the school had used this curriculum before expanding the schedule. With only 45-minute classes, however, as opposed to the 75-minute classes they now teach, teachers usually felt they had to leave out some—or even all—of the activities. For example, one TERC unit to teach measuring skills revolves around planning a dream bedroom; students literally construct a model of the concepts they are trying to understand. It is just not physically possible to build a model of a bedroom in 45 minutes.
Last spring, teachers at King identified math vocabulary as a probable underlying cause for students' poor performance in mathematics. Since the expanded schedule took effect, the grade 3–5 teaching team has increased opportunities for students to reinforce their grasp of key mathematical terms. In one activity, teachers have students write definitions of vocabulary in their own words, give examples, and assess their own level of understanding of each term; they follow up by using these words in a game in which students match key math terms to student-written definitions and examples. Adding the element of the game increases student engagement. Recently, one student—a girl with disabilities—and her game partner spontaneously changed the matching game into a more challenging “Go Fish” game and taught the rest of the class how to play.
The literacy classes, which in the previous schedule had already clocked in at a robust two-and-one-half hours, also increased by 30 minutes. Although an extra half hour might seem to promise minimal effect, teachers report that they are finally able to implement the Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Collaborative curriculum in the way it was designed. They can devote sufficient time to the three core components of the lessons: readers' workshop, writers' workshop, and word study. Now teachers can read aloud to the whole class, break into smaller groups to continue reading supplementary materials, and then structure a writing activity around the text. One teacher said her students are disappointed when literacy class ends and ask whether they can stay in at recess.
Broadening Skills, Building Relationships
The expanded day has enabled the Martin Luther King School, and others participating in the initiative, to strengthen more than students' cognitive development. At the King School, students participate in daily elective courses for 30 minutes (grades K–5) or 50 minutes (grades 6–8). These courses deepen students' understanding of what they are learning in core classes while allowing them to explore content through their interests. For example, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders can build on their literacy skills by participating in drama class, whereas 7th and 8th graders can critique and make films. Gardening is another elective: The school has partnered with CitySprouts urban gardening program and created a gardening space on an enclosed patio. King's 3rd and 4th grade teachers incorporate lessons developed by CitySprouts into their math and science teaching.
The Jacob Hiatt Magnet School in Worcester, Massachusetts (a pre K–6 school with approximately 500 students), has also used the additional time to bring cultural and community organizations into the school. These community partners work with the school to design weekly courses (each of which is offered for six to eight weeks) that are intentionally aligned to the state's academic standards. For example, as Hiatt students learned geometric concepts in math class last fall, they worked with artists from the Worcester Center for Crafts and the Worcester Art Museum to create designs and draw cityscapes using geometric shapes. Meanwhile, as 3rd grade students learned about Massachusetts history, docents from Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum depicting an 1830 New England community, visited classes. They assigned each student a historical role to play in a simulation game about 19th-century America.
Beyond exploring content in a different context, elective classes improve physical fitness, communication, and teamwork and build positive relationships. At the Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, for example, 8th grade math teacher Brian Raposo also teaches martial arts as an enrichment. Many of his karate students came expecting to learn only how to kick and punch. He was able to teach them that karate is not fundamentally about becoming a better fighter, but about humility, respect, and self-discipline. Brian has seen the classroom behavior of his math students who also take karate improve significantly. Because they respect themselves and their fellow students, they strive hard to perform well in class and help their peers as well.
Relationship building has become a much more explicit part of the day at the King School, too. The school has built in 30 minutes each day to implement the Responsive Learning curriculum, which teaches youth to resolve conflicts peacefully and productively. Every section of every grade begins the day with a 30-minute morning meeting, at which teachers preview the day ahead and help students proactively solve problems. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the effect of such time on students' overall development, Learned-Miller points to that fact that her office is now nearly empty of students “sent to the office” for classroom disruptions.
Schools as Protected Spaces
According to Learned-Miller, education at the Martin Luther King School is better than it was with a shorter day. The daily rhythms of school life seem less harried. Students and teachers have time to work through problems together, ask and answer questions, and work in teams. Giving students a chance to engage in activities that they choose communicates to them that they can and should design their own learning opportunities.
These longer classes have given teachers the extra minutes they need to describe a concept in greater detail or help students learn from one another. As these teachable moments accumulate, students inevitably benefit.
The nine other schools in Massachusetts that have expanded their school day have seen these same kinds of changes. The education taking place at these schools embodies what research and common sense define as a quality education for the whole child: robust classroom activity, positive relationship building, and the consistent effort to push students to learn. Although these schools still experience challenges with teaching students effectively and developing strong instructional practices, real improvement has taken place at these 10 institutions—and with relative speed. Learned-Miller declares, “I don't know if the expanded day is a panacea, but it's the closest thing to it I've seen.”
Although it is laudatory to raise academic standards and demand proficiency from all students, schools should stand for more than academic success. Schools should also be protected spaces where students can develop the character and capabilities that make us fully human. The experiences of the Martin Luther King School and the other Expanded Learning Time schools suggest that expanding the school day is a key strategy in reaching these two goals. These schools have demonstrated that with an expanded education program, schools can bring academic success to new heights while attending to the underlying dimensions of children's development that make success meaningful.
