ELT Convening: UCLA IDEA Center

This is a guest post by NCTL's Director of Communications & External Affairs, Blair Brown.

I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at an ELT convening hosted by the UCLA IDEA Center with 14 community groups from across the country last week. From Philadelphia to Los Angeles, the organizations in attendance represented the parent, student and community voice that is often left out of discussions in education reform. However, in this California conference room, their voices were anything but quiet - the energy and commitment to expanding opportunities and ensuring equity for children were quite powerful.

I left the convening inspired by the breadth of the “expanded learning time” movement. Individuals and organizations in the movement may envision the nuts and bolts of ELT differently than we do here at NCTL but they all believe that children, particularly in the high-poverty communities they serve, need more than they are getting now – more engaging, high-quality academics; more opportunities for enrichments, internships, and fulfilling experiences; and more interactions with caring and attentive adults.

It’s an exciting time in the conversation around education and ELT. I’m looking forward to the next one.