Now that schools are focused directly, and in some cases exclusively, on student achievement,
there is a renewed interest on the ways that time can be found, allocated, organized, and
modified to enhance learning opportunities for students. Ron Williamson, Professor of
Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University and author of several books on
scheduling, says, “Time is one of the things that principals can influence quite significantly – and
the most important tool at their disposal is the daily schedule.” Building a schedule, says
Williamson, should not be seen just as an administrative responsibility but as an opportunity for
school leaders to “intervene pretty directly in the instructional program of the school. It’s the
one place where ‘instructional leadership’ can make a real difference in the amount and quality
of learning that goes on in the building.” The secret, he continues, is to “treat time as a
resource – just like money or personnel – that has to be allocated and managed to fulfill the
school’s core mission.”