What We Do

TASC developed and is implementing ExpandED Schools, a re-invention of the traditional school day, in public schools in New York City, Baltimore and New Orleans. By giving kids in public elementary and middle schools more time and a wider range of opportunities to learn, we offer a promising way for educators and communities to reinvent schools that struggle to fully deliver on the promise of public education.

	ExpandED School Snapshot When Principal Danika LaCroix was assigned to replace a failing Brooklyn elementary school with a new school, she vowed to give her students as rigorous and broad an education as kids get in more affluent neighborhoods. PS 636-Young Scholars Academy for Discovery and Exploration re-opened with a learning day that was three hours longer, accomplished through a partnership with TASC and a strong community organization, University Settlement. The school divided the extra learning time between intensive math and English and experiences that kids and parents chose, including fencing and robotics. Today P.S. 636 is one of New York’s most improved schools as measured by leaps in math and English proficiency. “We didn’t just add a few more minutes of what teachers were already doing,” Principal LaCroix said. “We re-invented from the ground up with a community vision and a team commitment to help every student find that spark.”

We lift the limits off the outdated school calendar, providing about three more learning hours per day than the typical public school. We promise students a more individualized, balanced and relevant education—the kind that all parents seek—and a fighting chance to succeed no matter where they begin.

In New York City we support comprehensive, daily after-school programs and high school apprenticeship programs that can be scaled to reach large numbers of students.

Why We Do It

Across the nation, schools operate on an outdated schedule of approximately 180 days a year, seven hours or less per day, with most kids spending 80% of their waking hours not in school.

All kids deserve a fully-loaded education that develops their character, talents and ambitions as well as their minds. Too few get that. The poorest kids have the fewest opportunities to keep learning when the standard school day ends at 3 PM.

Dozens of empirical studies from the past decade show the same results: more learning time, in the form of high-quality after-school and summer programs, leads to better student outcomes including greater achievement, better school attendance and more enthusiastic learners. New research on the highest-performing charter schools finds additional learning time to be a critical element of their success.

In this active climate of education reform, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent the urban school day to give kids more time and a wider range of opportunities to learn. This is not just a good idea. It’s a moral and economic imperative.

How We Do It

• Advocate with leaders to shape policy and grow sustainable public funding to give kids more time and a wider range of opportunities to learn.
• Develop and pilot models to expand learning opportunities.
• Provide technical assistance to help schools, community organizations and systems develop their capacity to expand learning opportunities in New York and the nation.
• Conduct and encourage research and independent evaluations that contribute to high quality and accountability in expanded learning opportunities.