Expanded Learning, Expanded Opportunity: How Four Communities Are Working to Improve Education for Their Students

This report analyzes case studies of "more and better learning time" efforts around the country. With support from the Ford Foundation, America's Promise Alliance looked in Grand Rapids, MI; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN; and Rochester, NY to see how time spent out of the classroom improved outcomes for students in low-income neighborhoods and low-performing schools. Just as different names are used for the same concept in different communities--expanded learning, extended learning or out-of-school-time opportunities--there is no typical approach to effective programs. The report highlights the challenges, successes, variation and innovation present in each community profiled in the report. Each of these communities is at a different stage in making more and better learning a reality for young people. Each, moreover, is following its own distinctive approach that is informed by its situation and unique combination of needs and resources. This variation suggests that communities need not follow one established model to succeed. At the same time, the diverse experiences of these four communities illuminate some of the challenges that all communities face, with implications for how individual communities can advance their own efforts. The hope is that these stories of community collaboration will benefit other communities as they develop and improve their own efforts to expand learning opportunities for all students.