TIME Collaborative: College View Elementary School | Page 3

Why expand learning time?
From the outset, College View wanted to find new
ways to cultivate the holistic potential of its
students, so any initiatives or different approaches
would need to create space to address both
academic growth and character development. “At
College View, we are as passionate about character
as we are about academics,” Gamba says.

teach, they could boost experiences for kids. This
experimentation around time fit in perfectly with
the goals of the TIME Collaborative and the
support the cohort was offering for schools, so
College View took a leap and joined in the initiative.

It wasn’t long after committing to these “twin
rocks” of success that Gamba and his team realized
there was no way to get students where they needed
to be without adding more time to the school day.
College View was the fifth-neediest school in
Denver in terms of family income, and many
opportunities for enriching experiences outside of
school, like art classes, sports teams, dance, yoga,
and so on, were often expensive and scheduled
during the late afternoon and evening — times that
were out of reach for working families. With that in
mind, College View educators decided they needed
to be creative. With a teacher contract for 315
minutes of instruction per day, Gamba knew if he
and his team could figure out a way for teachers to
be at school for the full day — from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. —
without exceeding the time they were allowed to

Understanding the TIME Collaborative
One of the most valuable resources in education is time and how it is used. Next generation learning environments
intentionally use time to personalize learning, provide deeper interventions, and create learning opportunities beyond
the classroom.
The TIME Collaborative is a partnership of the Ford Foundation and the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL),
the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), and The Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) to help three Colorado
districts and 12 schools, including College View Elementary, rethink the role time plays in their learning environments.
These teams worked closely with NCTL, CEI, and CDE to design a school day and year that is personalized to the unique
needs of their students and community. The redesign process involved technical assistance and targeted coaching with
each school team. Plans focused on integrating NCTL’s Seven Essential Elements for more and better learning time with
school and district priorities.

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