Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 5, 1994                   TAG: 9405050164
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDENTS NEED LONGER SCHOOL DAY, STUDY SAYS

That eighth period, whether it be an honors class, laboratory session, internship or club meeting, is virtually unheard of in an education system that has become a ``prisoner of time,'' a federal commission said in a report being released today.

``The six-hour, 180-day school year should be relegated to museums, an exhibit from our education past,'' the National Education Commission on Time and Learning reported. ``Both learners and teachers need more time - not to do more of the same, but to use all time in new, different and better ways.''

In a two-year study, the commission found that U.S. students spend less than half the time of their international peers studying the core academic subjects of English and language arts, mathematics, science, civics, geography, history, the arts and foreign languages.

``Academic time has been stolen to make room for a host of nonacademic activities,'' including counseling, gym and driver's training, the report said.

That cannot continue if the United States is to succeed in the global economy and meet the national education goals just signed into law by President Clinton, the commission said.

``In the school of the future, learning - in the form of high standards of student performance - must become the fixed goal,'' it said. ``Time must become an adjustable resource.''

Education Secretary Richard Riley said the report is designed to ``shake us out of our lethargy. ... We will be hard-pressed to create a world-class education system if we continue to invest only 41 percent of the school day, on average, on core academic subjects,'' he said.

At Jefferson, a magnet school specializing in science and technology, the day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The extra hour of classes certainly isn't a deterrent; hundreds of students are turned away because of space constraints and rigid academic admissions requirements.

``This allows us to focus much more intently on academics,'' Principal Geoffrey Jones said in an interview. ``Many of the kinds of things that are natural for school and can be disruptive to the educational program take place in the eighth period.''

He cited, among others, assemblies and use of the library.

Students have a wide array of options for their eighth-period classes, ranging from mini-courses to tutoring or working collaboratively in groups. They can sign up for a new program every month.

``Eighth period has helped make this school the center of our lives and often of our families,'' senior Seth Mitcho told the commission.

It also may be the most remarkable thing about ``one of the most remarkable public schools in the United States,'' the commission said.

Commission Chairman John Hodge Jones said schools must provide students with at least 51/2 hours of core academic instruction each day. If schools want to offer more, he said, they should stay open longer each day and longer each year.

But it will take more than a school's desire to change.

The General Accounting Office, the research arm of Congress, said some state regulations prevent a principal from lengthening the school day or a teacher from shortening the time devoted to some subjects, such as driver's education, to provide more in-depth coverage of difficult subjects, such as calculus.

The GAO said Congress should encourage schools to take advantage of the flexibility offered to them as education reform measures begin to take shape.

Education reform will put even more demands on students' time, as well as that of teachers, principals and administrators, the commission warned. ``Professional development needs will be broad and massive,'' it said.

The commission called for a commitment to bring all students up to world-class standards but said merely adding time wouldn't be enough.

The traditional 51-minute period should give way to innovative ideas such as block scheduling, in which two or more consecutive periods are combined for teaching a difficult or complex subject, the commission said.