New Report: Financing Expanded Learning Time in Schools

To better meet the needs of students and teachers, more than 1,500 schools across the U.S. offer expanded time in school.  As more educators and policymakers explore this opportunity, one of the first questions they ask is, "How do schools pay for that additional time?" NCTL is pleased to join with The Wallace Foundation to release a new report that gives an in-depth look at how five district expanded-time schools leverage federal, state and local funding to fund the additional time.
 
The key findings in the report include:
 
* The five expanded-time schools in this study have secured a range of funding-from federal, state, local, and in some cases philanthropic sources-to pay for the additional time.
* In all cases, increasing time was cost-efficient, relative to the costs of the regular school day. On average, schools profiled in the report were getting nearly 30 percent more time for student learning at less than 10 percent of the cost.
* In all schools, instructional staff made up the largest percentage of the cost, though the balance of staffing between teachers and community partners varied by site. In schools where certified teachers worked some, or all, of the additional instructional hours, the percent in the increase of hours teachers worked was greater than the percent of increased pay.  In fact, for every 10 percent increase in time, teacher salaries rose, on average, by 6 percent.
* Across all five schools, the expanded time allowed for similar programming enhancements, including a designated period every day (or most days) for intensive tutoring or other type of intervention support; an expansion of enrichment classes and activities; and more dedicated time for teacher collaboration and professional development.

As this report demonstrates, there are many models of structuring effective expanded-time schools as well as options for funding the additional time. We will continue to study this issue and look forward to learning more from the school and district pioneers in the years to come.