4-day School Week? Good Idea? Bad Idea?

I sure love to complain about the academic calendar and how it does. not. jive. with working parents' schedules.  But we talked (and even disagreed!) about that before.   Here's an option that never even crossed my it-oughta-be-different brain: the 4-day school week.  Hmmmm... now there are some real pros and cons to this one.  But it's happening in places (not here), and is being discussed in light of the sky-high gas prices.  Read more on the WSJ's The Juggle blog  - where parents from all over are weighing in, and they aren't nearly as nice to each other as we are, I might add. 

I haven't processed this idea enough to really have a solid opinion, though I can imagine the childcare nightmares associated with covering even more time when primary caregivers are at work.  And if we're gonna focus on scheduling, I'd rather address the long summer vacation, myself, than go down this more complicated road.  But there are die-hard supporters.  You? 

Comments

[kim]

So, how is this good for kids exactly?

[Johnny]

I see more Home work, and longer school hours. Or they simply dumb up what is taught to our kids. Childcare will hurt a lot of the families.

[manicmama]

My Kiddos attend a charter school that is run four days a week, but they are in-session more hours those four days.
Although they love it, it does present a child care issue as my husband and I both work. The long days M-TH were tough when they first began school, it seemed like a very long time to be away from home, at task, etc...the benefits though include almost no "Teacher work days" and missing less school for dentist appointments, weekend trips and such, we always schedule those on Fridays.
If this schedule were to become more common, hopefully there would be some programs available on Fridays at rec. centers or the Y. Currently because most kids are in school there are few options.

[Aleta]

Wait! What about Corbett? (East Multnomah county on the way to Multnomah falls) The HS ranks highest in Oregon. The whole district is on a 4 day week.

The 4 day week saves this public rural school district on gas. If there is a Monday holiday, they attend on that Friday.

There are less staff days and longer school days - less tv time I guess :-) I have a few friends whose kids go there and they love it.

It does cause some childcare issues, but the kindergarten is going all day starting this year with no extra charge.

I also think that longer periods of classroom time are better for learning, because it gives the teachers the opportunity for more one-on-one time.

[Sheryl]

I often hear the childcare issue as a negative anytime year round school, four day weeks, or other changes to the traditional school schedule are discussed.

If a whole district--say PPS--went to a year round schedule (for example), childcare providers and centers that serve PPS families would adapt. Market forces would ensure it.

[mom22]

This whole idea is unsettling to me. My bias is against it, but I have to preface that by saying I don't have school age children yet, they've never spent a full day in any kind of structured care setting, and I'm opposed to full day kindergarted. I'm sure that clouds my ability to look at this objectively. I just don't see that a young child needs to spend that much time "learning" all day. They need to play, rest, explore a little more than that, I think. And if the days aren't longer, well then don't even get me started about the lack of adequate education time already. I get the financial benefits. And I absolutely agree that if this happened everywhere of course the childcare options would be there. But I just don't want this for my. I don't think it jives with what yound kids need developmentally.

[leslie]

First off, a major decision such as reducing the school week should not be based on one criteria, but many, and should not be arbitrarily chosen as a complete solution, but should be pedagogically supported as a viable alternative to real situations, such as transportation, fuel, and employment costs.

... and, although I'm not sure I'm on board with the idea of a 4 day week, I do know, as an educator, that it's what they do with the 4 day week that really matters.

Some schools have maintained an optional or additional fifth day for underachieving students to receive remedial help and for teachers to have a complete day for planning or coordinating with peers.

Like all the decisions we're faced with as parents, I think it's important that we research various perspectives...

This is a pretty good, research-based (though a bit dated, from the late 90's) article on the topic:
http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article4.html

Who knows, maybe we can ALL go to a 4 day work/school week and spend a full 3 with our families. Now if that's not good use of an additional day, I don't know what is!

[meg]

I am a teacher and I can see some real benefits of the shortened week. When spending less on gas a district can spend more money on students. This could reduce class size. Student absenteeism goes down in districts with a four day week and drop-out rates are lower. High school students who need to work to help support their families often end up working during school hours but if they could work 3 full days they would miss less school. In studies, student achievement at younger grades was not adversely effected by a four day week even in the years right after the switch when staff was adjusting. Many companies allow employees to work a shorter week so families would have more time together. Drawbacks include less time for after school activities, burn out after lunch and some of the other issues already discussed. Teachers that works shorter week tend to suffer less burn out and districts could hold staff developments (that are optional) on Fridays so that teachers are outof their classroom less. Half of all teachers quit within the first three years so this is significant.

[e.]

My two cents is that it is about quality, not quantity. Quality learning environments and educators are able to adjust for the multitude of needs in the classrooms to ensure success, and that includes the daily and weekly structure. If the four day week proves beneficial for the school budget, the students and the teachers, well then families should be willing to adjust their childcare and activities schedules. The schooling should always come first and since there is a mandatory number of hours all students have to spend in school no matter how they schedule the week or the year, the childcare costs or work missed would total up the same.

[Kristin]

I'm a stay-at-home mom, so the childcare issues, granted, don't apply as much to me. I have to admit (ssshhh, don't tell my kid's teachers) that we operate on four day a week schedule quite often anyway. If there isn't a teacher workday or holiday or illness (which there almost are), then I judge their mood. If they seem out of sorts or particularly tired, I keep them home.

It's not like they are prepping for the GRE or in college calculus. Their over-all health is what's important at this point.

So, I don't know if I'm adding to the debate. I would be in favor of a shorter week, but not necessarily, at this age, of a longer day.

[Jenny]

Are we talking about a 9 to 5 day for six year olds?! That sounds awfully developmentally inappropriate. A year round 4 day week with the typical 6 hour school day sounds better to me, providing there is infrastructure for working parents for that 5th day. (The empty building sounds like a great place for day care or tutoring, and if run like a private center, it could probably be profitable enough to offer low-income scholarships.)

[aktomlinson]

Currently my 7 year old has a 6 hour school day (she will be going into second grade in September). Because the day is so short, there is no time for recess except for 20 minutes after wolfing down their lunches (I think they have 15-20 minutes for that). I am VERY much in favor of extending the school day, especially since it would probably mean that there could be a recess break in there sometime.
I am also in favor of shortening the school week, for so many reasons mentioned in the posts above. In our PPS elementary school, we have a 3 or 4 day weekend at least once a month already.
For those of you dreading a full-day kindergartener or 1st grader dealing with a grueling 8 hour day, our kindergarten had hours and hours of structured open play time. Most of the concentrated learning was through songs and games. First grade becomes more rigorous, and it would be very good to be able to fit more recess time into the day.

[Amy]

Our school district is considering this. I get the quality vs. quantity issue, but their school day would only actually increase by 20 minutes a day because our school district apparantly goes longer than the state minimum. Do I really think that the quality will improve? No. Same teachers, same thing. Also, is anyone concerned at all that the majority of school districts considering this are rural? I wonder if this will only widen the gap between urban and rural students.

[Christine]

It actually would add on only about 45 minutes a day. So a typical day might be 8-3:30. That is not a super long day. It isn't like a 9 to 5 deal. Studies have shown there is less absenteeism on the part of the kids and the teachers with a a 4 day week. It would give teachers more time to spend on subjects instead of having to jump to the next thing, so it might encourage more in-depth work. Either way the educational time would be the same, and I don't think it's such a long day that anyone would be too burnt out by the end of the day...Think of that extra day for appointments or relaxing. Great for stay at home parents and more and more jobs are either going to or allowing a 4 day week.

[Barb]

Does anyone know if the district is seriously considering this new schedule? If it only added 30 or 45 minutes to the day, I would be for a 4 day week. I think so much of the week is wasted anyway. I'd rather they try to make a shorter week more productive, but maybe that won't happen.

And I totally second the push for more recess. Study after study shows that it is beneficial to physical well-being and academic focus and success...why it's the first thing to go is beyond me.

[ahr]

The problem with a four day school week is that I either have to find care for the fifth day or else switch to 4 ten hour days at work meaning much longer stretches for the kids in before or after care. They might only add 45 minutes to their school day, but I would have to add two hours to my work day. Personally, I think more hours away from family on a daily basis (10-11 hours if I switched to 4 days a week) is worse than the existing fifth day of 8-9 hours. Honestly, my kids are only awake for 12-14 hours per day - I would never see them, and when I did, I would only be feeding, bathing or dressing them!! For me, the benefit of a third day of family time would not outweigh the negative of seeing them so little for those other four days.