Expanded Learning Opportunities

This report discusses the fundamental design elements of quality bridge programs, drawing from the example of Carreras en Salud in Chicago. Bridge programs provide low-skilled workers with enrichment opportunities to increase their readiness and competitiveness for employment. Among these opportunities are: career development, contextualized instruction, and support services. The report outlines step-by-step instructions for organizations to consider in creating successful bridge programs - including the development of partnerships, curricula, and logistics.

This brief challenges the need for a fourth year of high school, addressing the controversy around “senior year” and its tendency to draw out the high school experience. In proposing the topic of early graduation, the document outlines a number of policy approaches and their successful implementation in various states. Among these programs are scholarship incentives, dual enrollment, virtual classes, and proficiency-based credits.

This paper discusses the 16 Race to the Top grantees in 2012 -- a year in which the U.S. Department of Education highlighted the need for personalized learning environments. Specific attention is paid to the successful design and innovation plans of each grantee state, with a focus of four main activity areas within the context of personalized learning. This paper summarizes opportunities for innovation and potential challenges in constructing effective personalized learning environments, with the ultimate hope of providing key takeaway points for improvements in teaching and learning. 

Schools today are struggling to achieve innovation, efficiency, and effective reform with limited financial resources. To allay these challenges met by education leaders, the U.S. Department of Education has suggested some approaches to increase educational productivity. Among these recommendations, the Department makes a strong case for policies targeted at personalized learning and competency-based pathways.

This brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education argues that providing students with flexibility regarding where, when, how and from whom students learn will help support the nation’s goal of graduating students who are ready for college and a career. The brief outlines some of the challenges that the current organization of the school day presents and proposes some alternatives, including some brief profiles of specific initiatives that support more comprehensive approaches to expanded learning opportunities.

This report, sponsored by the Wallace Foundation, discusses the challenges and next steps for expanding learning time that were discussed at a May 2011 Wallace Foundation National Forum. The authors explain that despite a tight economic climate and a need for stronger research on what works in expanding learning time, the time is right to work on increasing learning time.

This research synopsis from the Harvard Family Research Project summarizes the findings of the full report, “Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time.” The report examines the program practices and structural features of out-of-school time (OST) programs in six U.S. cities that primarily serve low-income youth.

This report from the National Center on Time & Learning discusses key practices in optimizing increased learning time. The authors surveyed 30 high-performing schools, including 11 high schools, with longer school days and/or years and identified eight “powerful practices” of using increased learning time to improve student performance and engagement. The report provides case study illustrations to show school-level implementation for each of the eight practices.