November 13, 2013

GOV. MALLOY: 3,000 MORE CONNECTICUT STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM EXTENDED SCHOOL TIME

Schools in Meriden, Bridgeport, and Windham Selected in Second Year of New Program

(HARTFORD, CT) - Meriden, East Hartford and New London students are among the 9,000 students nationwide now in traditional district schools with expanded and redesigned school schedules as part of the TIME Collaborative, a five-state initiative announced last year. Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that a second wave of schools, including schools in Bridgeport, Windham and additional schools in Meriden, have already begun to redesign their schedules for the 2014-2015 school year. With the addition of these schools, 3,000 additional Connecticut students will benefit from extended time in school bringing the total number to nearly 5,000 students.

The announcement of the new districts and schools in the TIME Collaborative was made today at a visit to the Casimir Pulaski School in Meriden, Connecticut, by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor, and National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) President Jennifer Davis. Casimir Pulaski School is in its second year with an expanded schedule.

"I am proud Connecticut school districts are bringing stakeholders to the table to adopt innovative measures that will help us to improve public education," Governor Malloy said. "We have a fundamental obligation to students and teachers to ensure that we are doing the most with time allotted each day. Working together with the state's hardworking teachers, we can and must support successful models that break away from the status quo."

The state's emphasis on expanded learning time has come through a number of initiatives in Connecticut, beginning with the 2012 passage of Connecticut's legislation on education reform. This legislation established both Alliance Districts and the Commissioner's Network to give schools additional resources and flexibilities, including the ability to expand learning time.

The TIME (Time for Innovation Matters in Education) Collaborative includes five states - Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee - where select high-poverty schools are developing expanded learning time models to accelerate student achievement and offer students a broader educational experience. Governor Malloy and leaders from the other four states, along with the Ford Foundation and NCTL, announced the Collaborative last December at an event with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

"Lengthening the school day, week and year is one of the most promising strategies for improving student learning and closing the achievement gap," said Commissioner Pryor. "We commend the teachers, school leaders, and community partners in Meriden, Bridgeport, Windham, East Hartford, and New London for offering more time in support of our students."

The TIME Collaborative schools join a growing movement of schools that are leveraging more and better learning time to improve student achievement and close the opportunity gaps in America. There are over 1,500 expanded-time schools across the country, both traditional district and charter schools. These schools are capitalizing on new policies, autonomies, and funding streams available at the federal, state, and local levels.

The five states participating in the TIME Collaborative are using a mix of federal, state and district funding to cover the cost of adding 300 hours of instruction and enrichment to the school year. The Ford Foundation is providing states and districts with capacity-building grants and supporting NCTL to provide technical assistance to schools as they plan and implement more and better learning time. Under the guidance of NCTL, and through the in-depth planning process involving a broad array of school and community partners, schools build revised schedules that use expanded time in innovative ways to provide teachers extra time to collaborate and build new skills and students expanded academic and enrichment opportunities.

Through the TIME Collaborative, nineteen schools across five states are implementing an expanded calendar in the 2013-2014 school year after having completed a rigorous and comprehensive planning process during the previous school year. The planning process included input from administrators, teachers, community members, union officials and parents. However, not every school that participated in the planning process was ready to implement the high-quality requirements and several schools are getting additional support from NCTL before they move forward with the implementation of expanded-time schedules.

In addition to the TIME Collaborative schools expanding their calendars this year, over 30 new schools nationwide are beginning to plan for expanded time in the 2014-2015 school year. Like the first cohort of TIME Collaborative schools, in order to move forward with implementation next year, these schools will need to develop high-quality plans and engage in a community process.

"It is incredibly exciting to see these schools implementing a new school day that engages students and offers teachers new opportunities to learn and grow. They join schools that are already expanding learning time across the country, both district and charter schools, in order to accelerate student achievement and provide students with a well-rounded education," said Jennifer Davis, NCTL's Co-Founder and President. "As 45 states and Washington, D.C. begin to implement the Common Core State Standards, we know that expanding learning time is a critical strategy for teachers and students, particularly in schools where students are already behind. If we don't give students the time and support they need now, we cannot expect them to be prepared for success in college, careers, and beyond."

The districts and schools participating in the TIME Collaborative are:

2013-2014 Cohort II Planning (for implementation in 2014-2015):

2013-2014 Cohort I Expanded Time-Schools:

East Hartford Public Schools	Dr. Thomas S. O'Connell Elementary School
Meriden Public Schools	Casimir Pulaski Elementary School
Meriden Public Schools	John Barry Elementary School
New London Public Schools	Jennings Elementary School
New London Public Schools	Winthrop Magnet Elementary School

For details on the districts participating in the TIME Collaborative, visit http://www.timeandlearning.org/ .

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For Immediate Release: November 13, 2013

Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy