School Schedules

Start times. Snow days. Year-round schooling. Block scheduling. Four-day weeks. Get research and insights into school calendars

Explainer

Year-Round Schooling Explained
Get the facts about year-round schooling, including pros and cons, statistics, and key definitions.
Silhouette of a woman hanging from the hour arm of a clock set at 9.
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Teaching Profession What the Research Says Later School Start Times Could Help Teachers, Too
Most discussion of school start times centers on benefits to late-sleeping adolescents, but a new study looks at the effects on teachers.
Sarah D. Sparks, November 17, 2022
3 min read
School lockers with a clock on the wall above.
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School & District Management 4 Ways to Get Buy-In for Additional Learning Time
Two administrators discuss how they got parents and staff to support longer, or more, school days.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 3, 2022
4 min read
Illustration of an adult male leader manipulating the hands of a very large clock.
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School & District Management The Learning Recovery Strategy Districts Are Overlooking
Adding more required time in the classroom remains an unpopular approach, despite evidence it can help catch kids up.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 2, 2022
9 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
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School & District Management Opinion Schools Need to Reclaim Lost Learning Time. Here’s How to Start
To maximize learning time, we need to consider how time in the school year is currently being used and whether it is the best use possible.
Rick Hess, October 17, 2022
4 min read
Image of an alarm clock.
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School & District Management Earlier School Times Don't Hurt Elementary Students' Learning, Research Shows
Districts often need to stagger start times. The evidence suggests secondary students should start later.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 13, 2022
3 min read
Photograph of a school bus driving down a road surrounded by fall foliage
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Teaching Opinion An Ode to the Classroom Rhythms of Fall: ‘Now Is Sowing Time’
October is a perfect time to step back from the minutiae of teaching and appreciate the beautiful repetition of the school calendar.
Todd R. Nelson, October 7, 2022
4 min read
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Student Well-Being & Movement Letter to the Editor Schools Need to Cut Back on the ‘Filler’
Removing the 'filler' in schools would likely have a bigger effect on student well-being than later start times, writes a retired teacher.
August 30, 2022
1 min read
Educators with strings tied to each of the clock hands and pulling them in different directions.
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Teaching What Time Should School Start? We Asked Teachers
Educators on social media weigh in on the tradeoffs of later start times, like sleep schedules, commutes, and after-school errands.
Hayley Hardison, July 13, 2022
6 min read
Image of high school students working together in a school setting.
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School & District Management What the Research Says The Interesting Effects 4-Day Weeks May Have on School Climate
Teenagers experienced less bullying and fighting but no effects on their attendance or grades, a study found.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 30, 2022
2 min read
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Laura Baker/Education Week and Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
Staffing Our Schools Special Report Tackling the School Staffing Crisis
Modifying schedules, expanding the use of contractors and emergency certified teachers, and other tactics schools are trying.
June 29, 2022
Illustration of calendar on teacher's desk with days falling off.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty images
Recruitment & Retention The Latest Perk Schools Are Using to Attract Teachers: 4-Day Weeks
The pros, the cons, and the unknowns of a shorter school week.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 29, 2022
8 min read
Image of Elementary students and teachers walking in a school hallway.
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School & District Management With Teacher Morale in the Tank, What's the Right Formula to Turn It Around?
Higher pay is only part of the mix, education experts say.
Libby Stanford, May 9, 2022
3 min read
Illustration of a row of teenagers silhouetted against a height scale.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty
School & District Management Opinion Let's Stop Assuming Students Are Up to No Good
A post-COVID-19 schedule change in my school taught me to stop patrolling the halls like a prison guard, writes one assistant principal.
Brandon McCoy, April 4, 2022
3 min read
Photo of classroom clock.
Design Pics / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Why Schools See Extra Time as the Solution to Making Up for Lost Instruction
Districts are combating pandemic learning disruptions by adding instructional time. Atlanta is among the few to extend the school day.
Evie Blad, March 22, 2022
9 min read