Education secretary calls for 12-hour school days, longer school year

The 19 states chosen Tuesday will travel to Washington during the second week of August for a peer review session that will assess their educational plans. Delaware and Tennessee have already received $600 million to implement their own school reform plans as a part of Race to the Top.

Duncan highlighted what he describes as a “quiet revolution” that he feels will reform the current education system.

“This quiet revolution is driven by motivated parents who want better educational options for their children,” said Duncan. “They know how important education is to succeed and compete in the global economy, they insist on the very best, and they are willing to sacrifice to make it happen.”

Duncan also envisions a system in which schools’ structural resources such as libraries, gymnasiums and pools are shared among and are more accessible to the community.

“They don’t belong to you, me or the principal. They belong to the community,” Duncan said. “We need to keep schools open longer to where schools become the center of the neighborhood and part of family life. And when the family is learning together, students do very, very well.”

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