School & District Technical Assistance

There is a growing national movement across the U.S. to expand the traditional school calendar of 180 six-and-a-half hour days to better address the needs of students, particularly those living in poverty. The evidence is mounting that more quality learning time can significantly boost student achievement and broaden enrichment opportunities, strengthen community partnerships, and reform school communities. Yet we know that districts and schools are apprehensive about taking on the challenge of expanding their school schedule given resource restrictions and a lack of understanding of effective practices and school redesign models.

Having worked with numerous state departments of education, supported more than 100 schools and districts, advised members of Congress, and studied the successful implementation of schools with more learning time, NCTL is well-positioned to support schools and districts as they attempt to take hold of the promise of expanded learning time and provide their students with a new school day. NCTL currently offers the following consulting and technical assistance services:
  • Getting Started Summit
  • ELT Essentials
  • Helping Districts Plan For and Implement Expanded Learning Time
  • Building a Better Schedule for Students and Teachers that is Sustainable
  • Making More of the Time You Have
  • School Improvement Grants (SIG)

The NCTL team brings a wealth of experience—ranging  from working directly with schools that are planning and implementing expanded learning time, developing state networks of expanded-time schools, advising state agencies on the framework of expanded-learning time efforts, and creating state and federal policy on learning time, to working as teachers and administrators in public schools. Below you will find a description of each of the consulting and technical assistance services that we offer.

Getting Started Summit- An Overview of the Promise & Practices of ELT
Target Audience: Districts that want to expand learning in a cohort of schools or in all schools
NCTL designed the Getting Started Summit to introduce district and school teams to the possibilities and promise of building a better school day and year with more time. The summit takes place over the course of one-and-a-half days, with the first day bringing together all team members and the second day allowing for follow up with individual teams. Day 1 includes an introductory plenary on the promise and research behind expanding learning time and breakout sessions that use school examples to illustrate the successful practices of high-performing, expanded-time schools. Follow up support for school teams take place on the second day to address school-specific questions and develop concrete next steps. This session and the follow up support are designed for district and school leadership teams.
 
ELT Essentials- Web-Based Seminars & Video Conferencing
Target Audience: District, School, and Community Leaders who are just beginning to consider ELT
By working with implementing and planning schools, NCTL has gathered extensive information on topics relevant to effective Expanded Learning Time redesign. Working with your team, NCTL can develop a Web-Based Approach to help your district develop an understanding of the most powerful expanded time practices. These webinars use school profiles, presentations on high-performing, expanded-time schools, video, and interactive Q&A to deepen your knowledge base and prepare you for developing a comprehensive approach to expanding learning time and increasing school effectiveness. 
 
Helping Districts Plan for and Implement Expanded Learning Time
Target Audience: Districts that want to expand learning in a cohort of schools or in all schools
NCTL supports districts in developing Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiatives that result in a cohort of schools adopting and implementing a new school day and/or year with significantly more learning time. Our multi-session Planning & Redesign Process combines a series of day-long planning and redesign sessions for school leadership teams and regular meetings with the district that lead to robust implementation plans at the district and school levels. During this process, NCTL also works with district staff members so that they have the capacity to support school teams. This two-pronged approach allows participating districts and schools to learn about best practices in ELT schools, interact with current ELT practitioners, and obtain expert guidance on how to implement an ELT school redesign.
 
Building A Better Schedule for Students and Teachers That is Sustainable
Target Audience:  Schools that already have more time but want to improve their schedule so that the expanded time is better used and more effective for students and teachers
Has your school recently added learning time but now wants to improve how you use that time, and make it sustainable for the long-term? NCTL offers a series of three full-day sessions that help school and district teams to build an expanded schedule based on student needs, effective expanded learning time practices, and a flexible approach to scheduling and staffing. By looking at a variety of resources, these sessions will also help school and district teams in Building a Better Schedule - one that develops a more cost-effective approach that can be easily sustained today and in the future.
 
Making More of the Time You Have: Effectively Using Learning Time In Your Schools and District
Target Audience: Districts that have more or are just considering more time
The highest-performing, extended-time schools make sure every minute counts in their school day and year; from the moment students walk in to when they leave, all of these schools’ time is spent learning and building success. Educators at schools that already have expanded time, or are just considering expanding time, need to understand how they spend their time and how to improve its effectiveness. NCTL can support Making More of the Time You Have through time analysis on the school level and the classroom level by using our Quality Time Analysis and Classroom Time Use tools.