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As shown by MetLife's 2010 "Survey of the American Teacher," America's educators strongly believe that all students should graduate from high school ready for college and a career (85 percent). Additionally, according to MetLife's 2009 survey, 86 percent of teachers believe that setting high expectations for students will improve student achievement to that end. The new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are strongly aligned with those sentiments. The CCSS provide an opportunity to realize systemic change and ensure that American students are held to the same high expectations in mathematics and literacy as their global peers--regardless of state or zip code. For elementary principals this means supports for planning, capacity building, and implementation. Elementary and middle school principals need assistance to ensure that they understand the requirements and have the resources for providing professional development to teachers, have access to the needed curricula, and have a chance to provide input into assessment protocols and procedures. The understanding and leadership of principals is essential to the success of the CCSS. The success of such change requires the thoughtful attention of school leaders. As such, this Action Brief for elementary leaders is offered as a "starting point," designed to increase awareness of the standards, create a sense of urgency around their implementation, and provide these stakeholders--who are faced with dramatically increased expectations in the context of fewer resources--with a deeper understanding of the standards and their role in implementing the standards. This Action Brief will provide no-cost takeaways, talking points and action steps that school leaders and counselors can begin to put into practice in their schools today. Appended are: (1) Talking Points for Leaders; and (2) Resources. (Contains 16 resources and 18 footnotes.) [This paper was a joint action brief with College Summit.]

Extending the school day and year is not easy. The conventional calendar remains one of the most intractable features of the American educational system. Altering the traditional school schedule has significant ramifications for parents, students, teachers, and school administrators. This reform impacts student and family schedules, transportation arrangements, teacher compensation, pedagogy and curriculum, and other issues. This research project was fundamentally designed to understand how these challenges can be overcome by studying schools that have actually overcome them. How are schools able to implement a change of such magnitude in effective and sustainable ways? To provide insight on this question, Massachusetts 2020, with support from The L.G. Balfour Foundation, a Bank of America Company, engaged in a year-long study of extended-time schools to consider the range of issues that these schools have had to deal with in breaking with the conventional school calendar. The eight extended-time schools that Massachusetts 2020 examined for this project demonstrate that extending the time students spend in school is possible in a variety of settings, including district public schools, pilot schools, and charter schools, and through a range of funding and staffing innovations. Examination of these schools further reveals that there is no one correct model of an extended-time school. In fact, each school has a unique character that grows from its strong educational vision. But these schools do all share one core belief: that more learning time is the sine qua non upon which a successful school is built. Employing creativity and attention to detail, these educators then develop a school that deliberately departs from the standard calendar of 180 six-and-a-half-hour days. They expand upon this time for the express purpose of enhancing teaching and learning. The positive effects of having more time are evident throughout each school. Through longer class periods, individual assistance, and tutoring sessions, students spend more time on task than do students in schools operating on a conventional schedule. Studying these schools also reveals that despite the benefits of having more time than the conventional schedule allows, there are hefty challenges to extending the school day. Clearly, one of the most significant is funding to pay for additional staff time. (Contains 12 figures, 6 tables and 30 notes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the L.G. Balfour Foundation. For "Time for a Change: The Promise of Extended Time Schools for Promoting Student Achievement. Executive Summary," see ED534911.]