One of the major advantages that the best charter schools have over traditional public schools is that they can offer a longer school day and school year. While many middle-class families are able to afford summer camps and a variety of after-school programs for their children, poor families typically cannot. Differences in learning time and in access to enrichment activities that support child development, contribute to the disparities in academic outcomes that we now refer to as the achievement gap.

To level the playing field and improve academic outcomes for all students, public schools should be granted the money and flexibility to extend learning time. This is what we were able to do at Central High School, in Newark, this year. With money from the State of New Jersey, under its School Improvement Grant initiative, Central High School was able to lengthen the school day to 4:30 for every student. The additional time made it possible to offer enriched literacy and math classes, as well as a wide variety of extracurricular activities. As a result of these changes, scores on the High School Proficiency Assessment showed a 32.5 percent growth in English language arts (to 69.9 percent in 2011 from 36.6 percent in 2010) and a 25.9 percent growth in mathematics (to 46 percent in 2011 from 19.9 percent in 2010). 

Of course, not every school will receive a grant from the state or a private foundation to make extended learning possible. In the absence of additional funds, and it should be pointed out that most of the best charter schools have access to more funding which makes extended learning possible, policymakers must be willing to grant public schools the flexibility to utilize state funds in ways that allow them to meet the needs of their students. This would require eliminating some of the compliance regulations that dictate how public monies can be spent. Similarly, school districts must be creative in adopting alternative work schedules for teachers. New Generation High School in Brooklyn has done this with great success, and now their students have a longer day and longer school year, and there has been no increase in the per pupil allocation.

During this period of fiscal austerity it will be essential for educators and policymakers to be creative in finding ways to improve the way we educate students. We must learn from the models that are showing us how this can be done.