There are several interesting items in the article; school hours 7am-5pm, cafeteria open from 9am-2:46 pm, and although the school is overcrowded there is flexibility and a wide range of courses to choose from. In the article photo I noticed children of Asian, Mid Eastern, and African American heritage.

Part of a New York Times article:
A School in Queens Draws a Crowd
Sept 28, 2009

At Francis Lewis, in Fresh Meadows, Queens, with nearly twice as many students as the 2,400 it was designed for, administrators have been forced to look for every possible nook and cranny of space — and time — to cram in more bodies. The first lunch period starts at 8:57 a.m.; the last one ends at 2:46 p.m. Some students begin classes as early as 7 a.m., while others do not finish until 12 hours later.

The flag team practices in the hallway. Hundreds of students are assigned to physical education in room “Outs” — the schedule abbreviation for outside. When it snows or the temperature drops below 34 degrees, they run in the corridors. A few science classes are held in one tiny square room with no ventilation.

Yet Francis Lewis is one of the most popular high schools in the city — nearly 13,000 students applied last year. It is just one of a number of New York City public school buildings teeming with students despite an overall drop in enrollment in the past few years.

Jasmine and her friends extol the benefits of Lewis, as students call the school — their electives have included forensics, psychology, bioethics and aerobics. The school’s graduation rate, 81 percent, far exceeds the citywide rate of 56 percent.

Some cannot participate in any after-school clubs because they do not finish classes until 5 p.m. Because clubs rely on classroom space, most meet during the 10th through 12th periods, when fewer students are in class.

New York Times – Sept 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/nyregion/29crowded.html

I’ve included three systems Japanese, Chinese, and European. They all include some commonality; starting early education at state sponsored schools 2-4 years old, longer school days and school years, and a system that tests and tracks students to academic or vocational. If the track is vocational there is a well developed system that leads to functional skills, apprenteships, and employment.

In Japan, China, and Europe part of the early childhood schooling and long days/year are in consideration of two parent working families. In this country we continue the myth that working families are the minority and need no systems geared to the fact our economy requires 2 parent employment.

The other issue is the national governments construct the educational systems for the greater good not the individual.

JAPANESE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Except for the lower grades of elementary school, it is usual to average 6 hours of school a day on weekdays, one of the longest school days in the world. Even after school lets out, the children have drills and other homework to keep them busy. Vacations are 6 weeks in the summer and about 2 weeks each for winter and spring breaks. There is often homework over these vacations.

Every class has its own fixed classroom where its students take all the courses, except for practical trainings and laboratory works. During elementary education, in most cases, one teacher teaches all the subjects in each class. Because of the rapid population growth after World War II, the numbers of students in a typical elementary and junior high schools once exceeded 50, but now it is kept under 40. At public elementary and junior high school, school lunch (kyuushoku) is provided on a standardized menu, and it is eaten in the same classroom. Nearly all junior high schools require their students to wear the school uniforms (seifuku).

A great difference between Japanese school system and American School system is, the American respects independence and the Japanese control individual responsibility by observing the group rules. This explains the Japanese characteristic of group behavior.

CHINESE SCHOOL SYSTEM:
Education is free and compulsory for 9 years in China, split between Primary and Junior middle school at the age of 6-15. Because both parents often work in China, the Chinese schooling system starts at Kindergarten level teaching children aged 3-6. The next level is the primary school level which last for 6 more years until the age of twelve. Then they progress to Middle school, three years of which are spent at a junior level and three more at a senior level.

After Junior middle school, a standardized test determines the following education. Children who do well on the test are sent to Senior high school where they are prepared for college. For the others, there is a range of agricultural, technical and vocational schools available that usually prepare them for some kind of trade or manual work.

fter Senior high school, students must take an exam that determines which kind of university they’ll be admitted to, competing for scholarships that are based on academic ability. Students that perform poorly on the exam are not admitted to a public university. The last remaining option for them are private (and expensive) colleges that sometimes don’t require minimum test scores.

EUROPEAN:
Now in some of the EU countries the pre-school policy encourages an increasing number of children of age 4 to join the Reception Classes. The policy also includes introducing 3 and 4 year olds to “Desirable Learning Outcomes”, and in recent times there has been the development of a “Foundation Program” from children aged between 3 to 6 years.

The academic authorities fix annually the beginning and end of each four-month term. For purposes of curricular organisation, each of the three four-month terms includes assessment and holiday periods.

From grades 1 through 4 children attend elementary school , where the subjects taught are the same for all. Then, after the 4th grade, they are separated according to their academic ability and the wishes of their families, and attend one of three different kinds of schools: .
(grades 5-9 in most teaches the same subjects as the second and third types of school but at a slower pace and with some vocational-oriented courses. It leads to part-time enrollment in a vocational school combined with apprenticeship training until the age of 18.
Second school type: (grades 5-10 in most countries) leads to part-time vocational schools and higher vocational schools.

It is now possible for students with high academic achievement at the Realschule to switch to a Gymnasium on graduation. The Gymnasium (grades 5-13 in most states) leads to a degree called the Abitur and prepares students for university study or for a dual academic and vocational credential.

The most common education tracks offered by the standard Gymnasium are classical language, modern language, and mathematics-natural science.