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I think that it would be so much better for students and teachers. Only problem is that if the schools move to a 4-day work week, that causes huge problems for working parents who will still be at work on that 5th day. That's the main problem I see with doing it. Maybe high schools could get away with it though?
SPED 1 That's a great idea on the 5th day for the students! Maybe that day could be where our long abandoned community centers could play a role in sponsoring interesting activities for the kids whose parents can't get away from the 5 day work week.
A school district near me implemented a 4 day work week AND has very competitive pay. It’s almost impossible to get a job there and I’m happy for them. Been keeping my eye out on their job postings for a couple of years lol. Good for them.
I don’t want this weekend to end either. I’m going to go ahead and schedule a day off mid week this September and then another one on a Monday in October just so I can pamper myself. Lmao. I hope you take some mental health days too. We work hard. We deserve them.
Wow! Interesting that it is so hard to get a job in that district. And yes! At this rate I will run of out personal days in December bc I have also been scheduling a bunch of random days of in the fall but YOLO lol
Our district went to a 4-day week two years ago, right after the pandemic. We have Mondays off. That means, of course, we don't have a few Monday holidays during the year because we are already off. To meet the state's instructional minutes requirement, the school days begin earlier and end later. In this rural parish, that means some children get on the bus before dawn and get home just before dusk. The last hour of the school day is basically wasted -- especially for the elementary kids -- because they are tired when they get to school and its non-stop classwork all day. This was supposed to reduce teacher and student absences because things like doctor's appointments could be scheduled on Mondays. Absenteeism has actually increased, which is particularly bad since there are now significantly fewer school days to make up lost ground. I have friends where both parents work and this has caused a financial hardship on them. The School Performance Scores have stayed about where they were with the 5-day traditional schedule. The district pays less than most neighboring districts, and it was thought that the change would reduce the number of uncertified teachers. It hasn't. Because of the fewer school days, and teachers missing as many workdays as they used to, students actually have more instructional hours in front of a substitute or uncertified temporary hire than they used to. It might work somewhere, but not here.
Interesting. You said you're in a rural area, would you mind sharing roughly where? And yes I think a huge drawback of the 4 day school week would be winter time where kids would be at school essentially during all daylight hours.
I really agree with this! As much as I’d hate to lose a whole summer break, it really does seem the more logical structure to schools. And no matter what the changes would be, eventually companies would follow suit, but it would be a really difficult period of transition. But reform needs to happen somewhere. No more summer slide either.
Yep! And as a whole, society has much shorter attention spans now. Dishing out school in more focused, concentrated bursts would benefit everyone. And yes it takes way too long for kids to adjust when coming back from break.
Used to be on one when I was in elementary school.
Called 45/15. It had four tracks, A-D. You would go to school 45 school days and off 15, year round. Only one track at a time was off the 15 days. I would go for that now as a teacher.
My husband was on the track system when he was a kid. He loved it and did not miss having huge summers at all. I think if we really value our kids' education we need to shake things up.
I think that the entire education system needs to change. I think that it would be much better if school was year round, with 6 weeks on, one week off, 5 days a week, and shorter days. Knowing that you have a week off every six weeks, and having a shorter day would make it feel more sustainable and offer more consistency for all learners, especially those with special needs. The shorter days would offer opportunities for enrichment activities for students, more time for appointments outside of school hours, and benefit kids who struggle with the long school days. It would take a lot of work to change it all, and a transitionary period for society to adjust, but I really think that this would make a huge difference in so many ways.
So many great points. I would love it if our society had the courage to try this out. Too many people have turned the public school system into free babysitting for their kids, and I feel like the value of public education has decreased substantially in most areas over the last 15 years. Love the idea of converting more time to parent conferencing and enrichment activities.
FYI- In 1926, Henry Ford introduced 40-hour work weeks with five working days with no cut in wages after discovering that 48-hour work weeks yielded only a small increase in productivity that lasted a short period. This discovery inspired other manufacturing companies to adopt the 40-hour work week.