As educators and as parents, two of the most important lessons we teach children is that words are important and how we spend our time really does matter. The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently proved these points when it made a very small change to an education requirement that may have a huge impact on how children in Pennsylvania learn.
Until now, Pennsylvania school districts have been required to provide a minimum of 180 school days per academic year and a specific number of hours of learning — 900 hours at the elementary level, 990 at the secondary level. The problem with this requirement is that it was entirely focused on how much time students are spending learning, rather than how best to use their time.
By making one small change to this requirement, the new legislation effectively turned “and” into “or.” Now, every Pennsylvania school district must either deliver 180 school days OR 900/990 hours of learning per academic year. While this may seem like a minor change in grammar, what this change actually does is enable each district to customize its school year, school week, and school day to meet the specific needs of the communities it serves.
29 other states already employ a similar arrangement, because they have identified that this kind of flexibility best meets the needs of its citizens. Here in PA, we are just beginning to discuss what kinds of innovation this change makes possible, but our educators are very excited by the opportunities it creates. Quite frankly, this is a new freedom — and a new responsibility — that Pennsylvania educators have never had before, and we are committed to making the most of it.
As we consider possible changes to how we structure our learning schedule, we will always prioritize the core needs of our students, families, and communities. This legislation is not an invitation to streamline operations in order to save money in our annual budget; it is an opportunity to truly rethink how we deliver education to our students so we can best meet their individual learning and life needs.
As we embark to imagine new ways of doing things, it is perfectly natural to feel somewhat anxious or uncertain about uncharted territory. Please trust that we don’t intend to make changes without a great deal of conversation, inclusion, intention and purpose. These conversations are only getting started, and there will be many opportunities for students and parents to join the discussions as they develop. In doing so, I encourage you to think about the learning process in a new way. In my 30+ years as an educator, the one constant we were never able to change was time. Now that we can, I believe we owe it to our students to truly think outside the box and imagine what could be possible if we were no longer bound by “the way it’s always been.”
Words matter, and so does how we spend our time. As we look ahead to what exciting changes this legislation makes possible, let’s make sure we’re investing both our communications and our actions in ways that will pay dividends for our children’s futures.