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PRO
A 4-day school week? N
ine Missouri school districts have already planned to switch to a four-day week school schedule by next school year. These nine districts are joining the 128 that have already made the switch. With 25% of Missouri school districts having four-day weeks, even more are contemplating the switch. The wave of school districts making the switch started for financial reasons and many believe that this is the main benefit to this system. Transportation costs would be cut because buses are running only four days instead of five. Utility costs would also be cut as the school would spend less on lighting, water consumption, etc. Additionally, costs on food and cafeteria programs are reduced by 20%. Because of all these cuts, the Education Commission of the States declares the overall savings to be between .4% and 2.5%.
This may seem small, however, this percentage translates to millions of savings.
In Duval County district in Florida moving to a four-day week caused them to save 7 million dollars which means a lot, especially to rural schools. These financial benefits were only the beginning of the push. Missouri’s Marshfield district recently had a unanimous board vote to switch to a four-day week to attract teachers. With fewer workdays and higher hourly wages, four-day weeks have become the game-changer many
districts need to stay competitive in keeping and recruiting staff. Once Colorado’s District 27J switched to a four-day week their applicants per position jumped from only a few to over 100; The district’s turnover rate also dropped from 21% to 13%. Missouri is currently experiencing a teacher shortage with 5% of full-time teaching positions vacant or filled by people not qualified. Switching to a four-day school schedule could be the edge needed to keep our school staffed with the best teachers and staff to ensure high-quality education. Attendance has also been shown to improve when the four-day school week is implemented. The Melstone District in Montana has reported having their attendance improve by 20% after moving to a four-day week. Having a day off allows students to schedule important appointments and travels without having to sacrifice their education. This leads to an increase in academic achievement with a switch to a four-day school week. The Oakridge School District along with many others have reported an improvement in test scores after making the switch. Additionally, graduation rates increase in the fourday school week as seen in Peach County. Not only do teachers prefer a four-day school week but the majority of students and parents do as well. Researchers interviewed parents, teachers, students, and administrators in fourday districts and found that 69% of parents and 85% of students preferred the four-day model. On the four-day schedule, studies show that students spend more time on chores, hobbies, homework, and at jobs than compared to students on the five-day model causing parents to promote the four-day model instead. Four-day school weeks have many benefits that go beyond cost-saving measures and might just be what this school needs. This model improves the quality of education for its students with not just the increase in attendance and academic performance but also providing the district with the best teachers possible. The majority of all participants involved from teachers to families prefer the four-day model because of its numerous benefits. It’s time to think about making the switch.
P R O
Hannah and JiaLi weigh the pros and cons of a 4-day school week.
HANNAH TEAGAN | REPORTER
JIA
