Remaking Schools with a National Service Afterschool Corps

Two good ideas—national service and extended day—are converging. In this speech before Congress earlier this week, President Obama spoke about a “new era of responsibility” and called for extending national service, and in an interview with CNN, Secretary of Education Duncan talked about extending school days and school years, saying, “Where students have longer days, longer weeks, longer years -- that's making a difference." National service is the perfect low cost mechanism for growing afterschool programs, summer camps, and summer youth employment efforts. With thorough management, training, and support, national service volunteers can, in the words of President Obama, “remake America.”