Public education in America is poised to take great steps forward in readying the next generation for success in higher education and the workforce through widespread adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The vast majority of students across the country will soon be held to the highest set of English language arts and math expectations in U.S. history. To meet this sharp rise in expectations for teaching and learning, educators and students can benefit from having additional time to process, understand, and become proficient in the new, more rigorous standards and curricula, as well as the new assessments that will come with them. The willingness of districts and schools to break away from the traditional 180-day, 6.5 hours-per-day school schedule can help with the transition to the Common Core State Standards, especially when targeting schools serving high concentrations of disadvantaged students.
Please join the Center for American Progress and the National Center on Time & Learning for a discussion of their new report “Redesigning and Expanding School Time to Support Common Core Implementation.” This report outlines how high-performing expanded-time schools give teachers more time for ongoing professional development and collaboration, and offers students more time to reach the higher expectations for English language arts and math literacy.
Opening Remarks:
Carmel Martin, Executive Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress
Presenter and Moderator:
Jennifer Davis, Co-Founder & President, National Center on Time & Learning
Panelists:
Michael Cohen, President, Achieve
Sharon Contreras, Superintendent, Syracuse City School District
Stefan Pryor, Commissioner of Education for the State of Connecticut
Paul Reville, Former Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Toby Romer, Director of Professional Development and Data Inquiry, Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School, Boston, MA