Advantages of the 4-Day School Week

Schools have been flirting with the idea of a 4-day school week for years. Recently, even more districts have implemented such a schedule. Detractors often bemoan the change, citing a loss of learning and no real cost savings. However, the advantages can be compelling.

Having an extra day off during the week can help families and older students. This day can be used for activities that students might normally need to take off time from school for such as doctor's visits. High school students may be able to change their job schedules to work more hours on a 3-day weekend so they work fewer on school nights.

The 4-day school week may also be helpful in the classroom. The first few minutes of every class are wasted with organizational activities. By the time students are in their seats, roll is taken, materials are out and ready, 1/10 of the class time is typically gone. While this may not seem like much, it means that there is no learning one day out of every two weeks. Most of this time could be reclaimed with a 4-day week since the classes themselves would be longer.

The primary reason given for moving to a 4-day school week is cost savings, and there are some areas that would benefit. Certainly, electrical costs would be lower with a 4-day school week. Although a minimum temperature would need to be kept for heating, heating and cooling units would need to be left on fewer hours and so would decrease utility costs. A larger savings would come from the transportation budget. One less day that buses need to run can save lots of money in gas in addition to the wear-and-tear on the vehicles.

Also, it goes without saying that districts on a 4-day school week would save money on labor. Having longer classes for fewer days creates a surplus in teachers. Maintenance and office personnel can be cut back to fewer hours or positions eliminated. While such choices are not pleasant, they will save the district money.

Even some of the disadvantages are not particularly negative. For instance, Victor, Montana students have been on a 4-day school week for several years and have increased scholastic performance since then. The same is true in Colton, Oregon. In addition, the cost savings have been significant enough that some municipalities, such as some in Hawaii, were considering using a 4-day week in order to save money.

In this day of increased budget cuts, many areas are being affected, including our schools. Ideally, classes would be small and teachers would be allowed time and materials to help students really learn. But this is not an ideal time. Instead, districts are being forced to make hard choices in order to save money. Although it may be unpopular, moving to a 4-day school week is one method of cutting the budget with fewer negative aspects than many others.

References:

Chapman, Lindsey. "Many US Schools Consider Four-Day School Week." Findingdulcinea.com.