To see a list of all SIG schools (cohort 2 and 3) and their ILT structures, please click here.

Increased Learning Time (ILT) is a key tool of the SIG grant to boost student achievement and build teacher and staff capacity.  Although the grant does not require schools to implement a specific ILT structure, it does strongly recommend at least 300 hours of expanded time per year in either core instruction (first-time learning), intervention, and/or enrichment.  ILT also encompasses increased time around professional development and collaboration for teachers.

The 300 hours/year recommendation is based on research and would amount to an additional 102 minutes of instruction daily in the LAUSD single-track calendar.  Besides expanding the regular school day, the additional time could also come from expanding the regular calendar year; offering before/after school programs; holding Saturday school; and/or offering summer programs.  This time must be available to all students, and can be difficult to implement especially given the tight budgetary conditions and already stretched resources.  However, this additional time will make American schools comparable to its counterparts in Asia, where school hours often follow regular business hours of 8AM - 5PM during the weekdays and half-days on Saturdays.  Moreover, in Asia, students often perceive academic learning as a personal responsibility that extends beyond school time, whereas many of our students perceive academic learning as something you only do within school walls.  This difference in attitude towards learning also manifests itself when comparing schools, say, in Palos Verdes or Orange County to our schools.  Thus, the ILT provision in the SIG presents a unique opportunity to redefine how our students perceive academic learning.

Below, you will find resources on ILT that have been pulled from the School Turnaround Learning Community (STLC) website set up by the USDOE for the School Improvement Grant.  Anyone can join the learning community by going to http://www.schoolturnaroundsupport.org/user/register.  Because the website is a discussion forum, the resources are more difficult to access so they are re-posted here for your convenience along with brief comments on each of the topics to help you gauge interest.  These resources are especially pertinent because they speak within the SIG context.  If you have additional resources that may help us, please contact Darlene Torres.

•  Increased Learning Time: Beyond the Regular School Day
• The effects of increased leaning time on student academic and non academic outcomes: Findings from a meta-analytic review