Extending the school day can improve learning outcomes only when the additional time is used intentionally to strengthen education, inclusion, and community engagement. When schools function as educational, cultural, and social hubs, they can help reduce learning gaps and support vulnerable students. Across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), students lag behind their OECD peers by an average of five years, largely due to shorter and less effective school hours.
The Jornada Escolar Extendida (JEE), or extended school day, has emerged as a strategic approach to address these challenges. However, success depends on how time is used—whether to reinforce literacy and numeracy, nurture creativity, foster inclusion, or strengthen family and community connections. Simply adding hours without purposeful planning is insufficient to improve learning outcomes.
The Regional Workshop on Best Practices in Extending the School Day, held in São Paulo, Brazil in August 2025 under the EXPLEARN Facility, brought together 45 education authorities, technical partners, and IDB specialists from countries across LAC and Croatia. Participants shared experiences, visited schools implementing extended school day models, and explored diverse approaches, from Argentina’s “One More Hour” policy to Uruguay’s full-time schools and Brazil’s Escolas em Tempo Integral.
Key lessons from the workshop emphasized that pedagogy matters more than time, shared challenges benefit from regional collaboration, sustainability requires alignment of infrastructure, teacher training, and community resources, and inclusion and innovation—including ethical use of technology—must go hand in hand.
Launched in late 2023 with EUR5 million from Croatia, the EXPLEARN Facility supports countries in designing, implementing, and refining extended school day policies. Over just 18 months, it has trained more than 500 officials, promoted technical cooperation, and produced tools to analyze learning time gaps. EXPLEARN fosters a community of practice, enabling countries to co-design policies, share evidence, and implement effective and equitable solutions.
The São Paulo workshop reinforced that extending school hours is not merely about adding time but about transforming school operations to reduce inequalities, enhance learning, and create opportunities for students most in need. With careful planning, sustainable financing, and community involvement, extended school day programs can make every additional minute in school count for all learners.
