Movement To Increase Classroom Time Grows

Education Week (10/25, Fleming) profiles a pilot program at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island, in which the school has added a seventh hour-long class period "focused on building student competency and a deeper understanding of the STEM subjects," noting that the pilot "is a partnership between the school district and the Providence After School Alliance, a nonprofit that manages after-school programs for low-income students in that city. Their efforts come alongside growing national interest in expanded learning time, or adding time to the school calendar as a way to help low-performing students catch up." The piece notes, however, that some observers worry that the movement to add instruction time "may be gaining steam too rapidly as a fix for schools that lack the know-how, resources, or research to implement it effectively."