This week, a Twitter friend asked TASC to explain "why longer school days are vital." We couldn't come up with one140-character answer that encompassed all the reasons, but it took no time to come up with 15 answers (in 140 characters or less).
That's how a Twitter campaign was born. If you believe that to close the achievement gap in this country we've got to close the opportunity gap, I invite you to tweet why you believe our nation should #expandEDin2012. How should we expand education in places that are struggling to deliver on the promise of public schools -- and why? I hope the list below gets you started.
•All kids need a deeper, more individualized, more balanced, hands-on education and a fighting chance to succeed no matter where they begin.
•Too many schools lack the time for arts, recess or inquiry-driven projects that teach collaboration, problem-solving + love of learning.
•The current school day was designed for an age of factories and farms when people could live a good life without even a high school degree.
•But we live in a knowledge economy, where demands on teachers and students keep growing while the school day stays the same.
•More than 1/3 of students in urban schools fail to graduate on time, putting them on track to a lifetime of low-wage, unstable jobs.
•We have the world's best higher education system but many students can't do college work.
• Three of every four students who go from New York City public schools to community colleges need remediation.
•The U.S. has dropped from 1st to 16th in the world in college completion.
•Obesity and diabetes rates are skyrocketing, at the same time that phys ed, recess and sports are being cut from schools.
•Research shows that more learning time leads to higher achievement, better school attendance, more enthusiastic learners. [Start with this PDF, a review of after-school research by Robert Granger.]
•For example, ExpandED Schools students out-performed their city and state peers in improving their math and English proficiency.
•Students in ExpandED Schools attend school, on average, seven more days a year than students in matched schools.
•Teachers give ExpandED Schools high ratings, with 85% finding their students' learning improved.
•New research on the highest-performing charter schools finds additional learning time to be a critical element of their success.
•Expanding the day doesn't have to break the bank. ExpandED Schools achieve 35% more learning time at less than 10% additional cost.