Obama Calls for Expanded Learning

	Additional Information Download the full description of ELT-NYC project: ELT-NYC Project (PDF, 36 KB)

In a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Barack Obama called for policy change and innovation in American public school systems. He addressed after-school and expanded learning time programs in these remarks, excerpted from his address on Tuesday, March 10:

"Even as we foster innovation in where our children are learning, let's also foster innovation in when our children are learning. We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day. That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.

"Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy. That is why I'm calling for us not only to expand effective after-school programs, but to rethink the school day to incorporate more time – whether during the summer or through expanded-day programs for children who need it. I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas. Not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom. If they can do that in South Korea , we can do it right here in the United States of America."

TASC is partnering with the New York City Department of Education to pilot expanded learning days in 10 New York City public schools. For more details, download:

ELT-NYC Project (PDF, 36 KB)