PRO/CON

A 4-day school week?

Hannah and JiaLi weigh the pros and cons of a 4-day school week.

Nine 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%.

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

This may seem small, however, this percentage translates to millions of savings.

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

C O N

During the pandemic, schools were among the hundreds of organizations which were forced to pivot and adapt to the new virtual environment. Students took classes from home and teachers reworked their curriculums to be taught asynchronously. One change initiated by some schools across the nation was a four day school week. With less days at school, administrators hoped to mitigate exposure and lessen the load on students and staff. As schools transition to their pre-pandemic configurations, some are considering keeping the four day schedule instead of returning to normal; however this is not in the best interest of students and families.

One of the main arguments for the four day configuration is that schools could save money. The first time the four day school week was enacted was during the Great Depression as a cost-reduction measure. Despite this, perceived savings for modern-day schools are limited because operational costs would still ensue. Schools would likely still be open for 5 days a week to hold meetings, administrative workshops, and sports practices.

This means schools still would need to pay for lighting, air conditioning, and janitorial staff. While there would be some savings, studies have shown they are not as significant as hoped. Financing data shows schools only save between 0.4% and 2.5% annually. In addition, the economic strain put on the surrounding community would further hurt the district financially.

Working parents would be forced to find child care on days when their kids used to be in school. Especially in low-income areas, this would be difficult and costly. A 2019 study found a significant decrease of women in the workforce in areas where there were four day school weeks. Furthermore, less days in school means stu-

In Missouri, over 400,000 students rely on free school lunches.

dents in need would get fewer free meals. Losing a day of school would mean families would need to find alternatives to feed their kids. These costs add up and would hurt the economy of the surrounding area.

The four day week has also been shown to hurt academic performance. The effects are often more extreme on students with special needs, but all students fall behind academically. Schools which have a four day school week, regardless of how much they extend the school day, have an average of 40 fewer instructional days than traditional schools. Paul Thompson, an associate professor at Oregon State University found that math scores decreased by 6 percent and reading scores decreased by four percent in schools that switched to the fourday model. Since these changes are mostly initiated in low income schools, these disparities simply further existing academic divides.

The extension of the school day brings a whole array of additional problems. A longer school day leaves less time for extracurricular activities to meet. Extracurriculars are key to student success and kids directly benefit both socially and academically when involved. Activities like sports and clubs bolster a sense of connection between students and build a greater sense of community in a school. To reduce the times these activities meet would no doubt hurt students.

When students are in school for less days a week and given fewer opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities, they are left with an unruly amount of free time. A Colorado study found that juvenile crime jumped almost 20 percent and other dangerous behaviors like drug use and bullying increased when schools switched to a four day week.

Unique solutions like the four day school week have helped schools stay afloat during the pandemic, but in the long run, they aren’t beneficial to communities. The benefits of switching to a four day school week are minute and the side effects hurt students and families financially, academically, and socially.