The shorter school week is increasingly popular for rural school districts trying to recruit teachers. But what does it mean for students and families?
Tim Bartram, superintendent of the Hull-Daisetta independent school district
Still, he was nervous going into the school year: “You have to wonder, is this the right direction or not? Is this what’s best for our community? I think any good administrator, good leader would definitely have reservations about making a move like this.”To many teachers, a four-day week is a perk that makes the longer hours worth it.
The four-day week has been popular in communities that have tried it, but a study has raised educational concerns.Addie Yeager, a high school sophomore in Florence, Colorado, was nervous when her small-town school district switched to the four-day week when she was in elementary school. “I didn’t really want it because I wanted to see my friends,” she said. “My parents weren’t sure what I would do on Friday. But now it all works out just fine.
Districts that adopt the four-day week do it in order to save money and improve attendance rates and teacher recruitment and retention, according to a 2021by the Rand Corporation, which included data from Idaho, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri and South Dakota. However, the researchers found savings are modest – typically no more than three percent of the overall budget, though some administrators said even a small amount can make a difference.
“The No 1 thing that I have to explain to people is that this is not a way for teachers to get an easy way out,” Turner said. “They’ll think this decision was made flippantly just to make the teachers’ union happy.” In Missouri, educators at four-day schools teach the same number of hours as at five-day schools and many four-day districts have doubled their professional development time, meaning teachers are actually on campus more.
Turner advised against painting the four-day school week with a broad brush, since states have different educational requirements and each district implements the schedule differently. He’s particularly interested in how schools use the fifth day to support learning, which can include focused intervention for students who are struggling, internships and career shadowing, community service, cultural exploration activities and dual enrollment in college courses.
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