Resources

We believe in educating parents about best practices and the latest educational research.  We hope you find this information and these resources helpful in making your own informed decisions.  If you know of additional research or resources we could add here, please contact us.

http://www.endtherace.org/research-statistics

http://ilraiseyourhand.org/

http://cpsobsessed.com

No state has an average school day as long as 7.5 hours.  The average school day in the State of Illinois is 6.5 hours.  The average school day in the United States is 6.64 hours.  See:  Average number of hours in the school day and average number of days in the school year for public schools by state: 2007-08. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/sass0708_035_s1s.asp

 

Thirteen CPS elementary schools already had a 6.5 hour day prior to the 2011-12 school year; some have for more than a decade.  These schools have retained recess, physical education, art and music, and outperform the CPS average in testing.  The 6.5 hour schools also outperform Chicago charter schools with a 7.5 hour or longer day.

 

 

 

	ISAT Composite Overall (2011)	ISAT Composite 8th Grade (2011)
6.5 Hour Schools Average	89.9	34.7
CPS Average	75.6	14.8
7.5+ Hour Schools Average	75.7	12.1

Twelve additional Chicago Public Schools moved to a 6.5 hour day for the 2011-2012 school year with little fanfare and virtually no additional cost to CPS.

See: CPS Elementary School A-Z Index

http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Elementary_schools/Pages/ElementaryIndex.aspx?Type=1&Filter=CPSSchoolGrade=Elementary%20school

 

Among the 10 largest city school districts, more minutes per year in school does not translate to a higher graduation rate. See: Urban graduation rates (2005). “Cities in Crisis 2009:  Closing the Graduation Gap.” http://www.americaspromise.org/~/media/Files/Resources/CiC09.ashx

 

Little research-based evidence exists to support the possibility that student achievement will increase with an extended school day.  See: Evans and Bechtel “Extended School Day/Year Programs:  A Research Synthesis,” LSS Spotlight on Student Success (1997)

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED461695.pdf

 

Children need unstructured time as urgently as they need a formal education.  See: “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds,” Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, and the Committee on Communications and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health

http://www.aap.org/pressroom/playFINAL.pdf