Past efforts to improve education have focused on curriculum and instruction. Some schools are pursuing more systemic year-round schooling and 4-day week reforms. The Waihe'e Elementary School and the Star of the Sea School, both in Hawaii, are implementing single-track plans for year-round schooling to improve academic achievement,…

The purpose of the 1991-92 Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools Full Day Kindergarten program was to improve the level of achievement of first-grade pupils by providing an additional half-day of kindergarten experience for 952 pupils in selected schools. This extra time allowed the students to participate in activities that were designed to enhance…

Teachers of extended day kindergarten classes and regular kindergarten classes are encouraged to help the poor risk child, who demonstrates the potential for having difficulty with the academics of first grade, by identifying the child's levels in reading readiness, developing the hows and whys of learning (teaching the child how to learn),…

An evaluation was made of the language development component of Columbus, Ohio's All Day Kindergarten Program (ADKP). The ADKP was instituted in Columbus' public schools in January, 1972, to provide a full day of instruction for underachieving kindergarten pupils. The overall goal of the program was to prepare pupils for first grade by providing…

Math and reading achievement scores were compared for extended day (ED) and non-extended day (NED) children in grades 1-3 of the Phillips Extended Day Magnet Program. In the before school (7:00-8:15 a.m.) and after school (2:45-6:00 p.m.) hours, ED children participated in an enrichment and remediation program in the core areas of math/science,…

Tewksbury High School, Massachusetts, solved overcrowding problems by rearranging its school day. The continuous school day devised to solve this overcrowding is a double overlap schedule under which seniors attend school from 7:30 a.m. to noon; juniors from approximately 9:30 to 2:50 p.m.; and sophomores from noon to 4:54 p.m. Under this plan, no…

Using data from a nationwide random sample for the 1976-1977 school year, this article studies effects of increasing the amount of math and reading instruction offered to third through sixth graders. All racial groups studied experienced diminishing returns at the observed amounts of instruction during the extended school day. Included are 3…

Providing a high quality instructional program where the needs of students are met and preparing them for success in the world beyond the high school are paramount in developing a school's master schedule. Throughout the past, there have periodic movements to extend the school day and year in order to better meet these goals. What research has…

This second part of an article written a year ago describes a postpartum program for adolescent mothers which offers help to all participants in a prenatal program whether or not participants express a need for help. Services are offered on a home visit basis. (CM)

Only four states (New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California) have specific physical education requirements for all grades. This article argues for eliminating mandatory physical education programs as a cost-effective means of increasing instructional time and allowing more parental choice in determining their children's academic schedule.…

To determine 1999 Magna Award winners, judges looked for successful programs that were developed or actively supported by school boards, essential in promoting the district's mission and advancing student learning, bold and creative, and capable of being replicated. The grand prize winner was Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools' extended-day…

There are only a handful of formal studies that examined the impact of changes in school starting time on student learning and behavior. The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota is a leader in this research and identified the impact of changes in school starting times across the school,…

The Martin Luther King School in Boston and nine other Massachusetts public schools used a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education to expand their school days by at least two hours. Each school lengthened the time students spent in reading and math instruction. Farbman focuses on the Martin Luther King School's foray into an extended…

Star of the Sea School, located in the Wai'alae-kahala area of Honolulu, implemented year-round schooling (YRS) in 1991. This publication describes the history of YRS, the status of YRS in the Pacific region, and outcomes of the Star of the Sea's program. The private Catholic K-8 school adheres to a 45-10 plan, which includes 180 regular school…

A therapeutic recreation program in the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, for 24 emotionally handicapped students (grades 5 through 12) provides extended day services within a public school setting. The program was designed to meet seven goals: providing structured activities beyond the regular school day, reinforcing the students'…