Superintendents told the Legislative Education Study Committee that scheduling choices ' including four-day school weeks, 7- or 8-period block schedules, and embedded intervention hours ' shape how much classroom time students receive and how teachers can access planning and collaboration time.

Why it matters: research and district leaders both point to sustained planning, coaching and data-driven collaboration as central to improving instruction for reading and math; how districts schedule the day determines whether teachers can do that work.

At the elementary level, West Las Vegas Superintendent Chris Gutierrez said his district schedules about "120 minutes a day in reading and then 90 minutes in math a day." Las Vegas City Schools said its elementary schools provide 90 minutes of reading, 60 minutes of math and specials that rotate 45 to 50 minutes. Several districts described middle and high school shifts from six- to seven-period days to allow intervention blocks: Las Vegas City Schools told the committee it moved from a six-period to a seven-period schedule this year to add literacy and math intervention windows.

Superintendents repeatedly said prep and collaboration time are insufficient. Pecos Superintendent Deborah Sena Holton said, "There's never enough time" for teachers to plan and analyze data. Districts described built-in solutions: West Las Vegas recently added a daily 50-minute elementary prep period where it previously had only five prep days, and some districts use a "Panther Power Hour" or "community" hour for interventions and advisory work.

Panelists also noted trade-offs. In some districts, principals try to protect 45-minute prep blocks for elementary teachers; others said secondary teachers have roughly five hours a week for planning and collaboration. Superintendents emphasized that when collaboration is well-structured, it yields measurable shifts in instruction and data use.

No formal action was taken. Superintendents asked lawmakers and state staff to consider how funding and calendar guidance could support built-in collaboration and coach time rather than add-on expectations that reduce instructional minutes.

The committee's education staff said it will examine calendar models and time-use research in follow-up work.