After an impressive year in education reform, we’re continuing to set national trends in Connecticut! Today, the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), the Ford Foundation, and Connecticut leaders announced that we will be one of 5 states (along with Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee), to collaborate in a new program to develop expanded-time models for schools. We all realize that it’s time to revamp the antiquated model of learning time in schools; and this is our chance in Connecticut to re-imagine that variable as an important facet of reforming public education! This effort, called the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Collaborative, is funded by Ford and supported by NCTL.

What does this mean for CT?

It means that, starting in 2013, select public schools in East Hartford, Meriden, and New London will receive support to add 300 hours to the school day, annually! Over 3,000 CT students will be participating in this initiative. Each participating school will engage in a year of planning with its district, school, unions, teachers, community partners, and parents. Each school will be asked to use the extra time to develop a rounded curriculum with individualized attention, data-driven instruction, and lots of enrichment opportunities. Governor Malloy observed: “Our reform bill had a number of objectives.  For districts that are succeeding, we want state government to get out of the way.  And for districts that are falling behind, we wanted to give them the ability to implement the reforms that we know achieve results for students.  The additional funding we’re announcing today will allow for the intensive turnaround models that will help us close the nation’s largest achievement gap.” We expect to see great things from the TIME Collaborative! You can read the NCTL’s study on expanded learning time here.