What Would Educators Do with Extra Time?

We asked, and most school staff would focus on student outcomes, data, PD, and helping others if given more time 

Educators, regardless of their role, are asked to do so much to meet students’ needs. Many don’t have enough time in the day and find themselves working evenings or early mornings from home to catch up.  

With increasing K-12 challenges and expanding job responsibilities, educators and administrators are constantly looking for ways to make their jobs more efficient, allowing them to be more productive. Every role is different, with an array of time-consuming tasks that can keep them from the big work of addressing student needs and improving student outcomes.  

For example, teachers work seven hours more than typical working adults, with an average of 53 hours a week, according to a 2023 RAND Corporation survey. 

 And, in a 2024 Pew Research Report, 84% of teachers say there’s not enough time in their day to get all their work done. And, too much work is the primary reason according to 81% of teachers. Other reasons teachers say they don’t have enough time in their day is because they often have to: 

• Perform non-teaching duties such as hallway or lunch duty 

• Spend time helping students outside class time 

• Cover for another teacher’s class when they aren’t available 

This back-to-school season, we’re focused on how we can help give time back to educators, administrators, and parents/caregivers. We know that when you have extra time—through innovations like efficient, easy-to-use software, interoperable edtech systems, and data analytics automation—you can focus more on impacting student learning.  

So, we asked, “What would you do with more time in your school day?” And here’s what you told us.  

Educators Would Spend Time on Classroom Initiatives, PD, and Data  

The top response for curriculum and instruction leaders and teachers is around classroom activities and planning to help students.  

“I would create more new and relevant activities that relate to the content I am teaching. I would also spend more time focused on becoming more skilled with some of the applications that I teach,” says Robert Bourgeois, a teacher at Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools, NC.  

“I would plan effective instruction and engaging activities and resources for students,” adds Danielle O’Haren, 6th Grade Math Teacher and Technology Liaison at Elizabethtown Area School District, PA.  

Focusing on data, a widespread priority for most groups responding, was also crucial for teachers. An example given was to use data to enhance small-group instruction.  

Professional development and helping other teachers and staff is also a priority. “I would continue to learn more about all of the amazing technology out there and help to figure out how we can use it to best support our students,” says Lauren Michener, Learning Coach at 21st Century Cyber Charter School, PA.  

Technology Leaders and Staff Would Help Others and Complete PD 

Tech teams are built to serve other staff, so it’s not surprising that the top response from this group was to help others with any extra time they could get.  

“I would love to take the time to get organized and create a central place for all users of PowerSchool to go for helpful tips and tricks and training opportunities,” says Cassie Southards, Data Systems Manager at Orchard Farm School District, MO.  

“I would spend (extra time) on finding out more about different applications we can use to make everyone’s jobs easier and seamless,” says Maribel Macias Gutierrez, Enrollment and Records Coordinator at Eagle County School District RE-50J, CO.  

Missy Williams, Director of Technology and Student Systems at Hastings Public Schools, MN, says she would spend extra time “creating more streamlined systems and processes to make tech-related tasks easier and more efficient for teachers.”  

Rachel Blackwell, Digital Learning Facilitator/Instructional Technology at Pulaski County Special School District, AR, would spend extra time on “more hands-on, relevant technology PD for teachers, where they do not feel like they are having to give up planning time.” 

“I would explore more AI practices in education and how we can support families and students with the latest education technologies,” says Emmanuel Wilson, IT/PowerSchool Administrator at Canadian International School Abu Dhabi, UAE.  

Student Support Staff Focus on Data

Support staff focused on attendance, behavior, and MTSS activities would use extra time to improve their use of data to see the whole child and provide the proper support students need to succeed.  

“I would spend more time working with data. I would especially like to do more analysis to help us identify trends that can be addressed at all Tiers for behavior, attendance, etc,” says Angela Valentine, Learner Support Administrator at Delta County Joint School No. 50/Vision Charter Academy, CO. 

Sarah Miller, Information Services Coordinator at Lorena Independent School District, TX, says, “I would like to have cleaner data for our administrators to look at as well as amazing reports that they could pull at their discretion. I would love to customize as many reports as I could.” 

District Leaders and HR Departments Would Help Others, Improve Organization and Efficiencies 

If given extra time in their workday, most administrators say they would focus on helping other staff throughout the organization, getting more organized, and improving efficiencies. 

“I would coach new principals and lead teachers,” says Meredith Weipert, Director of Testing and Accountability/PowerSchool at Randolph County School System, NC.   

Lisa Hatke, Director of Student Data Operations at 21st Century Charter School, IN, would spend extra time “creating training materials for our staff.” 

Nicki Charles, ISEE Coordinator/HR/Financial at Kootenai Joint School District #274, ID, would spend extra time “researching PD that would help teachers make things more fun for the students. Some of our teachers do not interact in their lessons, so they lose the students’ interest super quick.” 

And Mindy Reed, Executive Secretary to the Chief Administrator at Educational Service Unit 7, NE, says she would spend extra time “purging old paperwork and making processes more efficient.” 

Effective Tools to Give You More Time 

PowerSchool products are designed to improve efficiencies, productivity, and capabilities—no matter what your role is in K-12. With an easy-to-learn and user-friendly interface, interoperability between core products, and secure infrastructure you can depend on, PowerSchool’s comprehensive suite of solutions power operations from the classroom to the office to the home.  

We help connect the information educators need to see the full picture of every student’s unique needs. We bring the best of K-12 educational and operational technology together to make it easier to create and deliver an experience designed for each student. ​