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The purpose of the current study was to examine barriers, if any, reported by special education directors to providing extended school year (ESY) services. Results indicate four barriers to providing ESY services listed in order of importance by special education directors: difficulty in finding qualified personnel to work over the summer, determining eligibility for ESY services, compliance of parents, and limited financial resources to provide ESY services. Rural special education directors reported the barrier of difficulty in finding qualified personnel significantly more often than nonrural directors. Rural special education directors also reported significantly more barriers to providing ESY services in general.

Both picture exchange, a low-tech picturebased communication system, and technologybased interventions, such as the iPad™ with communication application, are emerging treatments for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the National Autism Center (2009). Recently, investigations regarding the use of the Apple iPad™ to communicate have been conducted with mixed results. The authors used a single-subject alternating treatment design during an extended school year (ESY) program for students with disabilities to compare the independent use and effectiveness of the two approaches (low-tech picture-based versus iPad™ equivalent) for three pre-school and two elementary students with ASD and developmental delay (DD). The authors concluded that teaching low-tech picture exchange prior to introducing the iPad™ may be effective progression in teaching communication reciprocity skills for some students with ASD/DD. Limitations and strengths of both technologies are discussed.

Attention has been directed toward extended school time as a measure to improve academic achievement. The school year and day length have varied over time and across localities depending on the particular needs of the community. Proponents argue that extending time will have learning and nonacademic benefits. Opponents suggest increased time is not guaranteed to lead to more effective instruction and suggest other costs. Despite noted limitations in the research, past reviewers have argued that any positive relation between allocated time and achievement is tentative and instructional quality needs to be addressed first. After a comprehensive search of the literature, 15 empirical studies of various designs conducted since 1985 were found. The literature revealed that (a) designs are generally weak for making causal inferences and (b) outcomes other than achievement are scarcely studied. That said, findings suggest that extending school time can be an effective way to support student learning, particularly (a) for students most at risk of school failure and (b) when considerations are made for how time is used. Of note, the strongest research designs produced the most consistent positive results. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

PurposeThis paper applies concepts from organizational theory as well as physics to elucidate the role of time in the US education system’s efforts to recuperate from the pandemic. This paper contributes to an important body of work focusing on implementation of reform efforts in education that use time in innovative ways.Design/methodology/approachThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted time in educational organizations and, thus, for educators and students. Time has been a vital tool for educational reform, yet many applications of organizational theory and literature on educational change neglect to underscore its importance. The authors explore resources, guidelines and practices related to time employed to recuperate from pandemic-related disruptions to schooling.FindingsThe authors discuss three cases in which time has been utilized to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) accelerated learning; (2) extended time; and (3) redeveloped professional learning. For each case, the authors demonstrate how time has been conceptualized and how leaders are stretching the space-time of schooling to provide resources and learning opportunities to students and educators.Practical implicationsThis article describes how district and school leaders can draw on their agency to reshape time-use in educational organizations.Originality/valueThis article advances an innovative framework demonstrating the importance of time in educational change. The authors also portray innovative models that provide time for students to receive an array of responsive, equity-centered, academic and SEL opportunities and for educators to collaborate, continuing their own development amid the ever-shifting Covid-context.

The nation's largest charter management organization is the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). KIPP schools are emblematic of the No Excuses approach to public education, a highly standardized and widely replicated charter model that features a long school day, an extended school year, selective teacher hiring, strict behavior norms, and emphasizes traditional reading and math skills. No Excuses charter schools are sometimes said to target relatively motivated high achievers at the expense of students who are more difficult to teach, including limited English proficiency (LEP) and special education (SPED) students, as well as students with low baseline achievement levels. We use applicant lotteries to evaluate the impact of KIPP Academy Lynn, a KIPP school in Lynn, Massachusetts that typifies the KIPP approach. Our analysis focuses on special needs students that may be underserved. The results show average achievement gains of 0.36 standard deviations in math and 0.12 standard deviations in reading for each year spent at KIPP Lynn, with the largest gains coming from the LEP, SPED, and low-achievement groups. Average reading gains are driven almost entirely by SPED and LEP students, whose reading scores rise by roughly 0.35 standard deviations for each year spent at KIPP Lynn. © 2012 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

This review synthesizes studies of the effects of modifying the academic calendar in Grades K-12 to do away with the long summer break while not increasing the length of the school year. The synthesis indicated that the quality of evidence on modified calendars is poor. Within this weak inferential framework, the average effect size for 39 school districts was quite small, d = .06, favoring modified calendars. Studies that used statistical or matching controls revealed an effect size of d = .11. Modified calendars were associated with higher achievement for economically disadvanteged students. Students, parents, and staffs who participated in modified calendar programs were positive about their experience. Policymakers can improve acceptance for modified calendars by involving communities in the planning and by providing quality intersession activities. (DIPF/ Orig.).

Although peer interaction takes on increased salience during adolescence, such social connections remain elusive for many high school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This social isolation can be particularly prevalent within unstructured school contexts. In this study, we examined the effects of a lunchtime peer network intervention on the social engagement and peer interactions of four adolescent students with ASD. Upon introduction of the peer networks, we observed substantial increases in the percentage of intervals containing peer interactions and social engagement across all participants. Further, students with ASD, peer partners, and school personnel all considered the intervention to be acceptable and feasible. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at enhancing the efficacy and social validity of peer-mediated interventions at the secondary school level.

This study examines the factors behind significant improvements in elementary student reading scores within South Carolina’s Camp iRock summer program. South Carolina presents a unique context of high childhood poverty, yet proficient literacy rates. To conduct a quantitative descriptive analysis of student improvement on the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Reading test, this study employed a mixed methods approach as well as a qualitative content analysis of the South Carolina’s reading plan program components. A trend analysis reveals a substantial increase in student improvement from 54 (n = 189) in 2022 to 183 (n = 319) in 2023. The study explores the role of university–community partnerships, professional development, data-driven decision-making, and personalized small group instruction. This growth suggests the impact of the identified factors, emphasizing the importance of collaborative models and data-informed strategies in enhancing literacy outcomes.

There are no published studies describing educational experiences for girls with Rett syndrome. Given the extensive educational needs associated with Rett syndrome, it is important to understand how families perceive their daughters' educational experiences to inform education service provision. The purpose of this study was to survey parents of school-aged children with Rett syndrome to describe the educational services that they receive and understand parents' perceptions of and satisfaction with the special educational and related services. The majority of parents were satisfied with their daughters' educational services. Communication was the most frequently endorsed priority skill area, and many parents expressed frustration with limited access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and staff training in their use. These results suggest there is a need for high-quality speech therapy and an emphasis on AAC support.

Schools often have to decide between extending the length of the school year or the school day. This paper examines the effects of changes in the distribution of instructional time on eighth-grade student achievement through a methodological framework that disaggregates total yearly instructional time into separate inputs for days per year and hours per day. This study’s dataset brings together nearly 900,000 student observations across eighty countries and four quadrennial testing cycles of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Assessments (1995–2007). I find that the positive effects of instructional time on student achievement are driven largely by the length of the school day and not by the length of the school year, with diminishing marginal returns to the former. Socioeconomically underprivileged students are most likely to realize gains from a longer school day. Furthermore, isolating the amount of instructional time spent on TIMSS-tested subjects from the rest of the school day reveals spillover effects from time spent in non-tested subjects that are especially meaningful for underprivileged students. In contrast, the effects of time spent in tested subjects are more homogeneous across student groups.