Redesigning the School Day with More Time

For over ten years, we have led schools through a comprehensive process to rethink their school day from the ground up to build a better school experience for students and teachers.

Launched in 2012, the TIME Collaborative focused on developing high-quality schools with expanded time in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee.  NCTL supported schools to  plan for and  implement  redesigned school days through a series of full-day training and working sessions, individualized school coaching, network building, and ongoing progress monitoring. NCTL employs a facilitative approach, with our expert education coaches serving as thought partners to schools, establishing a supportive process that gives schools the opportunity to reflect on their practices, learn from  their peers and leaders in the field, and develop robust plans that add significantly more time for key priority areas identified through the planning process.

Our school redesign planning and implementation support is rooted in our Seven Essential Elements for High-Quality Expanded Learning Time. We work with participating schools to:  

  • Plan for the redesigned schedule over the course of one year with an inclusive process that solicits input from administrators, teachers, community members, union officials, and parents;
  • Set focused school-wide priorities for success based on an analysis of how they are currently allocating time using our School Time Analysis Tool that then drive the development of the school schedule, using our Time Parameters Tool;
  • Provide a rigorous, well-rounded curriculum for all students, along with opportunities for individualized support and acceleration and enrichment in the arts;
  • Expand the time available for teachers to collaborate and use data to inform and strengthen instruction;
  • Promote a school-wide culture of high expectations; and 
  • Optimize the use of their expanded school day through bi-annual progress monitoring, providing schools with actionable feedback to continuously improve and deepen implementation