Post by momto4 on Sept 28, 2010 11:48:34 GMT -5
beaconnews.suntimes.com/1769218-417/students-schools-additional-aurora-idea.html
It’s not like extending the American school day, or the school year, is a new idea.
But maybe it’s an idea whose time has come.
With the release of a new film called “Waiting for Superman,” an extended school year with more core instruction for students has jumped to the forefront for many educators, reformers and policymakers. The documentary on the state of America’s public schools was done by Davis Guggenheim, who also directed “An Inconvenient Truth.”
America’s top policymaker, President Barack Obama, addressed the issue in an interview broadcast nationally Monday, during discussion of America’s decreasing educational competitiveness around the world.
In Illinois, and even locally, there are those who would agree with Obama’s assessment that the idea of a longer school year “makes sense.”
“It would be a positive step, for sure,” said Dr. Don Wold, dean of Aurora University’s School of Education. “The two biggest differences between us and Europe and the Pacific Rim are school year length, and the homogeneity of our classrooms.
“We are more diverse than they are. But one of the things we can change is the school year.”
More days, more hours
Mike Chapin, community relations director for the West Aurora School District, agreed.
“Educational research shows that there is a correlation between academic success and time spent in the classroom,” said Chapin. “So, time does equate to success. There are a variety of ways to do it.”
It’s already been done in part in Illinois. This year, the Chicago Public Schools started about a quarter of their students in August, a few weeks earlier than the rest.
Another way to get students more time in the classroom is to extend the school day itself. One of Chicago’s charter schools, the KIPP Ascend School on the West Side, has a school day that goes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example.
West Aurora has lengthened its school day, by one additional period in the high school two years ago, and last year for the rest of the grades. Chapin said the additional time equals “a couple extra weeks in core-level instruction.”
Change could be costly
One of the perceived drawbacks to more time in school is additional cost. Wold pointed out that sometimes the cost can be as obvious as paying the staff, or as obscure as having to provide air conditioning, which many Illinois schools do not have.
Kristine Servais, associate professor of education at North Central College in Naperville, agreed that extending the school year and making other improvements could be expensive.
“As an educator, it’s well worth it to me, but it’s a tough time in our economy to be asking for more,” she said. “We know we need it, but we know it’s difficult to ask taxpayers to allow for more money to go for schools.”
Wold suggested a way of increasing the school year by three weeks — which he did about 15 years ago on a limited basis when he was superintendent of the Westmont School District in DuPage County.
Wold said he was able to use federal Title I money to extend one elementary school by three weeks for half days, from 8 a.m. to noon, providing only core instruction and no extracurriculars. Not only was it unnecessary to provide things like music or sports for those additional three weeks, the school did not have to provide lunch.
“If you ease into it in a reasonable fashion, it may be more affordable,” said Wold. “I thought it worked pretty well, and students and parents seemed to like it.”
Strategy to compete
Servais called expanding the school year a “necessary strategy” because other countries are spending more time and money on education than the United States.
“We want to be on the forefront being a global competitor,” she said. “It’s not all about money. It is about time. Our best schools are using their time well, but there is a shortage of it. I think we have to get away from this idea of nine months of school and three months off in the summer. We aren’t an agricultural community anymore.”
In addition to extending the school year, Servais said that to stay competitive, the U.S. educational system also needs more quality teachers and principals, must seek solutions to the high dropout rate and address inequities among schools. More efforts, she said, should be made to improve schools in high poverty areas.
West Aurora made its move to a longer school day as a direct result of looking at student test scores. And while longer days help some, policymakers must consider that South Korean students spend the equivalent of two more years in class over any comparable time frame for American students.
The question is, will it make a difference now that more attention is being drawn to the possibility of a longer school day, both in media efforts and by the president of the United States?
“It’s still probably a wish list thing,” Wold said.
It’s not like extending the American school day, or the school year, is a new idea.
But maybe it’s an idea whose time has come.
With the release of a new film called “Waiting for Superman,” an extended school year with more core instruction for students has jumped to the forefront for many educators, reformers and policymakers. The documentary on the state of America’s public schools was done by Davis Guggenheim, who also directed “An Inconvenient Truth.”
America’s top policymaker, President Barack Obama, addressed the issue in an interview broadcast nationally Monday, during discussion of America’s decreasing educational competitiveness around the world.
In Illinois, and even locally, there are those who would agree with Obama’s assessment that the idea of a longer school year “makes sense.”
“It would be a positive step, for sure,” said Dr. Don Wold, dean of Aurora University’s School of Education. “The two biggest differences between us and Europe and the Pacific Rim are school year length, and the homogeneity of our classrooms.
“We are more diverse than they are. But one of the things we can change is the school year.”
More days, more hours
Mike Chapin, community relations director for the West Aurora School District, agreed.
“Educational research shows that there is a correlation between academic success and time spent in the classroom,” said Chapin. “So, time does equate to success. There are a variety of ways to do it.”
It’s already been done in part in Illinois. This year, the Chicago Public Schools started about a quarter of their students in August, a few weeks earlier than the rest.
Another way to get students more time in the classroom is to extend the school day itself. One of Chicago’s charter schools, the KIPP Ascend School on the West Side, has a school day that goes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example.
West Aurora has lengthened its school day, by one additional period in the high school two years ago, and last year for the rest of the grades. Chapin said the additional time equals “a couple extra weeks in core-level instruction.”
Change could be costly
One of the perceived drawbacks to more time in school is additional cost. Wold pointed out that sometimes the cost can be as obvious as paying the staff, or as obscure as having to provide air conditioning, which many Illinois schools do not have.
Kristine Servais, associate professor of education at North Central College in Naperville, agreed that extending the school year and making other improvements could be expensive.
“As an educator, it’s well worth it to me, but it’s a tough time in our economy to be asking for more,” she said. “We know we need it, but we know it’s difficult to ask taxpayers to allow for more money to go for schools.”
Wold suggested a way of increasing the school year by three weeks — which he did about 15 years ago on a limited basis when he was superintendent of the Westmont School District in DuPage County.
Wold said he was able to use federal Title I money to extend one elementary school by three weeks for half days, from 8 a.m. to noon, providing only core instruction and no extracurriculars. Not only was it unnecessary to provide things like music or sports for those additional three weeks, the school did not have to provide lunch.
“If you ease into it in a reasonable fashion, it may be more affordable,” said Wold. “I thought it worked pretty well, and students and parents seemed to like it.”
Strategy to compete
Servais called expanding the school year a “necessary strategy” because other countries are spending more time and money on education than the United States.
“We want to be on the forefront being a global competitor,” she said. “It’s not all about money. It is about time. Our best schools are using their time well, but there is a shortage of it. I think we have to get away from this idea of nine months of school and three months off in the summer. We aren’t an agricultural community anymore.”
In addition to extending the school year, Servais said that to stay competitive, the U.S. educational system also needs more quality teachers and principals, must seek solutions to the high dropout rate and address inequities among schools. More efforts, she said, should be made to improve schools in high poverty areas.
West Aurora made its move to a longer school day as a direct result of looking at student test scores. And while longer days help some, policymakers must consider that South Korean students spend the equivalent of two more years in class over any comparable time frame for American students.
The question is, will it make a difference now that more attention is being drawn to the possibility of a longer school day, both in media efforts and by the president of the United States?
“It’s still probably a wish list thing,” Wold said.