›› The common thought — among teachers and administrators, anyway — is more school is better. Get kids in class for a few more hours a day or a few more days a year, and they’ll learn more. Simple.
But budgets are as tight as a pair of skinny jeans after the holidays, which is why nine metro-area schools rejoiced recently when they were invited to participate in a federally funded program to add more class time.
The program, Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME), aims to test the results of an additional 300 hours of instruction a year, an approximate 25 percent spike over national class time averages. It is being funded by the Ford Foundation and backed by the U.S. Department of Education.
The nine schools invited in Colorado span a diverse cross-section of Denver-area districts, allowing 5,000 students to spend more time in class. Aurora students, both in Aurora Public and Cherry Creek schools, can breathe a sigh of relief. Their school days will remain unaffected.
Educational leaders, on the other hand, wouldn’t mind expanding the school day or year. “We all believe very strongly that the amount of time we can get students in front of teachers is the most critical factor in success,” says William Stuart, deputy superintendent at APS.
There’s hardly jealousy in getting passed over by the TIME effort, however. In fact, both Aurora districts are taking this opportunity to study the methodology and results of the nine schools participating.
“We will be very interested in any data that comes out of those,” Stuart says. “That’s a good group of districts covered, and we will be very interested to see what happens.”
Over in Cherry Creek, the sentiment is the same.
“Like all the others, we’ll be watching with interest to see the results the longer school day will yield,” says Tustin Amole, director of communications with Cherry Creek schools.
That’s not to say they will only be taking a wait-and-see approach. In January, APS continued discussions of more class time when approving the 2013-14 calendar. While no changes were made — nor are class time increases a foregone conclusion — the district is aggressively seeking solutions to getting its kids better equipped on the educational front.
Plus, APS is already five years into its Fifth Block program that keeps semi-proficient students in class a month longer to focus on math and writing. It’s been a success story to date.
“Our data has shown gains in writing and math,” Stuart says.
In Cherry Creek, a district often hailed as one of Colorado’s best, there are no current discussions revolving around longer school days, although the district has always mandated longer school hours than state regulations require.
Even with the discussion looming thanks to the seed money to the lucky nine from the Ford Foundation, it’s realistically a long shot that the Aurora districts will be able to drastically enhance the school calendar even if the program is a wild success.
The one simple reason: Money.
“Funding is a very significant piece of that,” Amole says. “It increases the cost of maintaining buildings and operating them. If you add more hours in the summer, it’s more AC. It’s an additional compensation to staff.”
So unless a windfall of substantial proportions like TIME hits APS or Cherry Creek, it’s a safe bet that administrators will be left looking to balance their respective resources and time, focusing on being efficient with what they have.
“There’s no formula that would say, ‘here’s the amount of time to add,’” Stuart said. “Time and quality. That’s more important.”
Jacob Harkins is a Denver-based freelancer writer.