More school districts than ever are making the move to a four-day week. Around 876 districts are now on shorter school weeks this year, up from 650 in 2020. For a lot of them, it's not so much a choice as a necessity with their financial and staffing realities.
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00:00 Our school districts than ever are making the move to a four day week.
00:03 Around eight hundred seventy six districts are now on shorter school
00:07 weeks this year, up from 650 in 2020.
00:09 For a lot of them, it's not so much a choice as a necessity
00:12 with their financial and staffing realities.
00:15 I spoke with two districts on two different ends of the spectrum
00:18 about why they made the switch and what results they've seen so far.
00:22 This is our first year of having the four day instructional week.
00:26 It seems like a long time ago now.
00:27 This is going to be our sixth school year on the four day week.
00:32 27 J schools in Colorado transitioned in 2018 after six failed attempts
00:37 to get voters to approve tax measures to raise teacher salaries.
00:41 Superintendent Chris Fidler says four day weeks weren't his first choice,
00:45 but now he's embracing them.
00:46 I believe strongly, Megan, that the only thing that kept us competitive
00:49 in terms of attracting and retaining quality adults to work with our kids
00:53 was our switch to the four day week.
00:54 They extended their school days to make up for the lost Mondays in the classroom.
00:58 Fidler says graduation rates are up as are recruitment
01:02 and retention efforts for school staff.
01:04 He's now mentoring other districts on how to successfully transition
01:08 like the Independence District in Missouri.
01:10 It's already been successful because we are completely full
01:13 with all of our teaching positions.
01:15 We had more than four times as many applications as we had previously.
01:19 So a lot of parents might be wondering about child care for that extra day off.
01:23 Well, 27 J says they were providing it, but over the years,
01:26 the demand for it has really dropped off.
01:28 The Independence District is also offering it and using that extra day
01:32 for tutoring college courses for high school students and for attendance makeup.
01:37 So are four day school weeks the future of education?
01:40 I don't know whether the four day week is the wave of the future,
01:43 but I think flexibility about how we offer instruction
01:46 and attract or retain adults to work with our kids is the future,
01:50 because if we aren't flexible about the future,
01:53 we're going to we're going to be like the dinosaurs.
01:55 Fidler says each district is different and has to consider its own why.
01:59 But he says students must be at the heart of any decision
02:03 a district ultimately makes.