Expanding Learning Time in Schools: Considering the Challenges of Implementation and the Potential Impact

Considering the broader context of school reform that is seeking education strategies that might deliver substantial impact, this article examines four questions related to the policy and practice of expanding learning time: (a) why do educators find the standard American school calendar insufficient to meet students’ educational needs, especially those of disadvantaged students? (b) how do educators implement a longer day and/or year, addressing concerns about both educational quality and costs? (c) what does research report about outcomes of expanding time in schools? and (d) what are the future prospects for increasing the number of expanded-time schools? The paper examines these questions by considering research, policy, and practice at the national level and, throughout, by drawing upon additional evidence from Massachusetts, one of the leading states in the expanded-time movement. In considering the latter two questions, the article explores the knowns and unknowns related to expanded learning time and offers suggestions for further research

Giving English Language Learners the Time They Need to Succeed: Profiles of Three Expanded Learning Time Schools

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of public school students who are Englishlanguage learners (ELLs) was, at last count, 13 percent in primary schools, 7 percent in middle schools, and 5 percent in high schools. And this ELL population will likely double in the coming years. In fact, some demographers predict that by 2030 the ratio of ELL students to non-ELL students could be one in four. Meanwhile, the nation's poorest schools—those serving a population at least 75 percent lowincome students—along with the whole state of California already serve that high a proportion of ELLs.In the pages that follow, we endeavor to describe how these expanded learning opportunities take shape in three  schools that have significantly expanded learning time for all students. Though the schools have each adopted their own specific means of supporting ELL students, they share many ommon practices, and, not incidentally, an overall approach of carefully identifying individual student needs and, then, applying the educational resources necessary to meet those needs. We have selected these schools from among the over 60 schools in the NCTL network—a group of schools forwhich we have, in recent years, provided technical assistance coaching to plan and implement an expanded school day.

Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success: Profiles of Effective Practices in Three Expanded Learning Time Schools

The purpose of this report is to describe how schools that have converted to longer operational days—known as"expanded-time" schools—better support the development of young children. The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) has chosen to document the work of these three particular schools from among its network of over 60  expanded-time schools because, over the last few years, they have demonstrated in concrete, ever-evolvingways, how time can be leveraged to optimal effect in educating young students. Though the practices they have honed are not unique, these schools show a distinctive capacity both to be creative about how best to serve their youngest students and to put in place the structures that allow these innovative approaches to flourish. Still, the educatorsin these schools are quick to admit that their classrooms and other supports for students in the early grades are works in progress. As such, the insights we draw from them are intended as guideposts along a path toward excellent education in the early grades, rather than definitive portraits of the destination.

Advancing Arts Education through an Expanded School Day: Lessons from Five Schools

In schools across the country, educators recognize the power of the arts to change young lives. They know that students' sustained engagement with enriching, high-quality experiences in the arts promotes essential skills and perspectives -- like the capacity to solve problems, express ideas, harness and hone creativity, and persevere toward a job well done. And yet today, educators at many schools that operate with conventional schedules are forced to choose between offering their students valuable opportunities to pursue the arts and focusing on other rigorous core classes that also are necessary for success in the 21st century. This study, which highlights an exciting new approach, is produced by the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), an organization dedicated to expanding learning time to improve student achievement and enable a well-rounded education, with support from The Wallace Foundation, a national philanthropy seeking to improve education and enrichment for disadvantaged children. In these pages, we present portraits of five schools that are advancing arts education through an expanded school day as they create vibrant and inclusive models of truly enriching education for all students

Each sensory nerve arising from the geniculate ganglion expresses a unique fingerprint of neurotrophin receptor genes

Neurons in the geniculate ganglion, like those in other sensory ganglia, are dependent on neurotrophins for survival. Most geniculate ganglion neurons innervate taste buds in two regions of the tongue and two regions of the palate; the rest are cutaneous nerves to the skin of the ear. We investigated the expression of four neurotrophins, nerve growth factor (NGF), brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin 3 (NT‐3), and NT‐4, and five neurotrophin receptors, trkA, trkB, trkC, p75, and truncated trkB (Trn‐B) in single sensory neurons of the adult rat geniculate ganglion associated with the five innervation fields. For fungiform papillae, a glass pipette containing biotinylated dextran was placed over the target papilla and the tracer was iontophoresed into the target papilla. For the other target fields, Fluoro‐Gold was microinjected. After 3 days, geniculate ganglia were harvested, sectioned, and treated histochemically (for biotinylated dextran) or immunohistochemically (for Fluoro‐Gold) to reveal the neurons containing the tracer. Single labeled neurons were harvested from the slides and subjected to RNA amplification and RT‐PCR to reveal the neurotrophin or neurotrophin receptor genes that were expressed. Neurons projecting from the geniculate ganglion to each of the five target fields had a unique expression profile of neurotrophin and neurotrophic receptor genes. Several individual neurons expressed more than one neurotrophin receptor or more than one neurotrophin gene. Although BDNF is significantly expressed in taste buds, its primary high affinity receptor, trkB, was not prominently expressed in the neurons. The results are consistent with the interpretation that at least some, perhaps most, of the trophic influence on the sensory neurons is derived from the neuronal somata, and the trophic effect is paracrine or autocrine, rather than target derived. The BDNF in the taste bud may also act in a paracrine or autocrine manner on the trkB expressed in taste buds, as shown by others. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Effect of Deutetrabenazine on Chorea Among Patients With Huntington Disease A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Deutetrabenazine is a novel molecule containing deuterium, which attenuates CYP2D6 metabolism and increases active metabolite half-lives and may therefore lead to stable systemic exposure while preserving key pharmacological activity. Objective To evaluate efficacy and safety of deutetrabenazine treatment to control chorea associated with Huntington disease. Design, Setting, and Participants Ninety ambulatory adults diagnosed with manifest Huntington disease and a baseline total maximal chorea score of 8 or higher (range, 0-28; lower score indicates less chorea) were enrolled from August 2013 to August 2014 and randomized to receive deutetrabenazine (n = 45) or placebo (n = 45) in a double-blind fashion at 34 Huntington Study Group sites. Interventions Deutetrabenazine or placebo was titrated to optimal dose level over 8 weeks and maintained for 4 weeks, followed by a 1-week washout. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary end point was the total maximal chorea score change from baseline (the average of values from the screening and day-0 visits) to maintenance therapy (the average of values from the week 9 and 12 visits) obtained by in-person visits. This study was designed to detect a 2.7-unit treatment difference in scores. The secondary end points, assessed hierarchically, were the proportion of patients who achieved treatment success on the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and on the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC), the change in 36-Item Short Form– physical functioning subscale score (SF-36), and the change in the Berg Balance Test. Results Ninety patients with Huntington disease (mean age, 53.7 years; 40 women [44.4%]) were enrolled. In the deutetrabenazine group, the mean total maximal chorea scores improved from 12.1 (95% CI, 11.2-12.9) to 7.7 (95% CI, 6.5-8.9), whereas in the placebo group, scores improved from 13.2 (95% CI, 12.2-14.3) to 11.3 (95% CI, 10.0-12.5); the mean between-group difference was –2.5 units (95% CI, –3.7 to –1.3) (P < .001). Treatment success, as measured by the PGIC, occurred in 23 patients (51%) in the deutetrabenazine group vs 9 (20%) in the placebo group (P = .002). As measured by the CGIC, treatment success occurred in 19 patients (42%) in the deutetrabenazine group vs 6 (13%) in the placebo group (P = .002). In the deutetrabenazine group, the mean SF-36 physical functioning subscale scores decreased from 47.5 (95% CI, 44.3-50.8) to 47.4 (44.3-50.5), whereas in the placebo group, scores decreased from 43.2 (95% CI, 40.2-46.3) to 39.9 (95% CI, 36.2-43.6), for a treatment benefit of 4.3 (95% CI, 0.4 to 8.3) (P = .03). There was no difference between groups (mean difference of 1.0 unit; 95% CI, –0.3 to 2.3; P = .14), for improvement in the Berg Balance Test, which improved by 2.2 units (95% CI, 1.3-3.1) in the deutetrabenazine group and by 1.3 units (95% CI, 0.4-2.2) in the placebo group. Adverse event rates were similar for deutetrabenazine and placebo, including depression, anxiety, and akathisia. Conclusions and Relevance Among patients with chorea associated with Huntington disease, the use of deutetrabenazine compared with placebo resulted in improved motor signs at 12 weeks. Further research is needed to assess the clinical importance of the effect size and to determine longer-term efficacy and safety

The Hunt: Target, Track, and Attain Your Goals

New York Times\u27 Best Seller "The Hunt: Target, Track and Attain Your Goals" asks readers: do you consider yourself a hunter? If you have you ever dated, played sports, or held a job, then your answer should be yes. We are always hunting trying to track down and take the things we want, the things that will make our life bigger, better, safer; more satisfying, exciting, and just plain fun. In The Hunt, serial entrepreneur, hunter, and OutdoorHub founder David Farbman offers a way of thinking about work, life, and our connection with the world based upon the ancient discipline of hunting. The Hunt will inspire anyone striving for more to think like hunters with poise, concentration, and skill; to identify their targets; and, with focus, determination, and satisfaction, to achieve those goals.Specifically, The Hunt shows how to: * Get a bigger, clearer picture of your life and goals, and discover things about yourself and your ability that you ve never noticed or seen before * Gain the hunter s special skills at observation and perception, to understand your environment; * Learn predatory consciousness the full understanding of your prey, whether business partners or competitors, so you can predict their actions; * Harness and leverage every opportunity to obtain your desired outcomes and inspire your best thinking * Fully understand where to pick battles, and where not to hunt at all. The principles of The Hunt will give you a clearer, sharper lens for seeing the world and shaping your role in it. You ll make better decisions, form stronger alliances, build better strategies, target bigger wins, and uncover more opportunities. Best of all, you will become a true hunter when you know who you are, what you want, and how to get what you re hunting for

Time for Teachers Leveraging Expanded Time To Strengthen Instruction and Empower Teachers

Time for Teachers looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an expanded-time school schedule and calendar. These schools' expanded time—on average, they are in session almost 300 hours more per year than the national norm of 1,170 hours—affords not only more hours and days focused on classroom instruction, but also a full array of professional learning opportunities.The aim of this report is simple: to present these featured expanded-time schools—or, more precisely, the systems andpractices they have implemented—as models that educators at any school can adopt and adapt to achieve similar success with their own students. Through analysis of the six time-use strategies, Time for Teachers offers a road map for other educators who are looking to adjust and improve how they are using both the time they currently have in their school schedules and any time they may plan to add. Individually and collectively, the accounts of these practices offer all educators insights into why this professional learning time is so valuable and also why an expanded-school schedule facilitates the implementation, and helps to elevate the quality, of these opportunitie