<p>Our local elementary (K-8) school district is considering switching to a 4 day school week. Students will attend school an extra hour and a half for 4 days then have fridays off. The reason? State funding shortages have really slapped our small district in the past few years. Moving to a 4 day week will cut down on transportation, maintenance, energy, and lunch preparation costs and allow the district to at least maintain a semblance of financial stability. I have mixed feelings about this move (both my children are no longer in the district) - what do others think?</p>
<p>I think it is a bad idea. Some of those kids have a long day as it is and their attentions are lagging at the end of the day. Also for those parents who work, some 5th day arrangement will now have to be found; many have scraped together an afterschool situation knowing that this was the standard. Now a full day of childcare will be needed. Also, kids who are not so interested in school will be spending even less days in school. Three full days off without a thought of school makes my skin crawl. My boys have had problems with 3 day weekends and holidays as it is. Out of sight, out of mind. Less time to do daily home work, and if work is assigned over the weekend it is more likely to be forgotten. The arrangement may benefit some families but I believe it will not be a good one for most. Also are they cutting the pay of the bus drivers and other employees who will not be needed for as many hours because of the 4 day rule?</p>
<p>The extra hour and a half should not be bad, though many will argue it's too long for kids to be in school. It will certainly play havoc with ECs, including sports, drama, and going to competitions out of town. For students who need to work for money, that will also create problems. I don't know if the school district has considered all these ramifications.
Equally worrying will be the time students are not studying. A three-day weekend is a lot of time for students to forget things they learned. On top of that, some holidays fall on mondays, making some weeks into 3-day weeks. It would be preferrable to have the off day on Wednesday, so as to give students less chance to forget stuff.</p>
<p>Marite, the middle of the week off is a great idea---one boarding schools have been using for years. Kids at many of the NE boarding schools have a half day schedule on Wed and on Sat. Those are the days the athletics and heavy ECs are scheduled. But that leaves only one day when the minds are not on school work. But I'm sure popular opinion is going to be for a 3 day weekend.</p>
<p>MArite, These are elementary school kids - k-8 - so they won't have to worry about working. :) My first reaction was the same as yours and Jamimom in terms of how this would affect educational quality and learning. I'm sure the teachers would love the idea but what about working parents? Our school district does have a profit-making after school program that parents pay for - apparently, they would extend it on fridays which would bring in more money for the school district, I suppose. But the main issue to me is with cramming more education into the school day for the youngest kids. I do like the idea of using Wednesday as the day off - I may suggest that at the next school board meeting if this continues to be pursued.</p>
<p>Apparently, our district is one of six in Calif. considering this option - two districts apparently already have this schedule in northern Calif. From what I have read, they schedule PE and other "active" activities for the last period of school.</p>
<p>Carolyn:</p>
<p>Oops, I had not noticed the reference to k-8.</p>
<p>Since 1904, French schools have had a half day on Wednesday and Saturday. The Wednesday afternoon is set aside for religious instruction for those who want it (fewer and fewer do) and Saturday morning is used to make up for the lost afternoon. </p>
<p>I think having a longer day would work. My kids used to be in afterschool programs until 6. Some programs in our town are quite academic: science club, chess club, foreign languages of various kinds. Other programs focus on performing arts; still others let students do their homework. The afterschool programs are provided by the city but out of a different budget. Presumably, there would be some savings if the afterschool programs are shorter, and these savings could be applied to day-long programs on Wednesdays or Fridays, as the case may be.</p>
<p>i like the idea of a 4 day week for colleges, but i feel high school kids just can't handle that...</p>
<p>I am a first grade teacher and would have to say I would not like a 4 day school week. Kids need to have their minds engaged in order to retain their learning, and 3 days off is too much. Also, they are shot in the afternoon and it is very hard to keep their attention. I couldn't imagine adding another hour and a half to their already long day. There are a few kids this age that could handle more learning past 3:30, but they are in the minority. I already have too many absences surrounding three day weekends as it is. I could see affluent families taking more mini 4-day vacations with this kind of schedule because they would only have to take one day off of work. If you have to do it, Wednesday would be better. I am curious to know whether or not the shorter school week has affected property values in the areas that have it already. I don't think I would buy a home where the district was trying to save money in this fashion. I hope this is not a sign of times to come. Calif. seems to do everything first!</p>
<p>The whole thought is sad.</p>
<p>More evidence to me that the next civil rights revolution needs to address the disparity in US elementary and secondary education that is due to economic differences beween school districts.</p>
<p>What you describe is a horrible idea.</p>
<p>I think it's an awful idea.</p>
<p>Bad idea for families with working parents, particulary low-income working folks whose daycare options are limited. I would fear that a bunch of kids could be warehoused in not very high quality daycare on Fridays, or even left at home to fend for themselves.</p>
<p>Northstarmom - I agree. This decision, if it is made, will be likely be based on economics. Our school district is tiny compared to most in California and it has done an amazing job of providing an excellent program. But, in recent years we have been hit very hard by state cutbacks and declining enrollments (compounded by the fact that we used to get a substantial portion of our budget from students who crossed the nearby Mexican border each day to attend our school but now that has been eliminated), we are literally facing a financial crisis. It would be a shame if such an excellent and caring school district were forced to close its doors because of financial concerns but that is a very real possibility.</p>
<p>Chocolate, Thank you for your perspective as a teacher. THat was very helpful. I'm hoping I'll be able to talk to some of our teachers about this once the holidays are over.</p>
<p>What I would do for a 4 day week! It would make visiting relatives so much easier, more free time, etc. But I DO understand the trouble with it, as working families would even have to hire a babysitter for a full day.</p>
<p>having an extra day off would be awful. think of all of the parents that would have to find someone to watch their kid on that day. daycare isn't cheap.</p>
<p>If you think education is expensive consider the cost of ignorance.</p>
<p>Voters should write, visit and call their elected officials to get better funding for the classroom costs of education. The ideas of cutting back on a school day, reducing arts or access to the library or overcrowding a school are absurd. If you were going to own a car for ten years, would you save money by not changing the oil? I teach in a school where the library has been closed for the first 4 months. Great savings.....</p>
<p>Last head administrator was given a bonus of ten years credit on retirement.....courts are still sorting it out and the school district pays the legal fees.</p>
<p>I say more money to schools and less to public stadiums for professional teams.</p>
<p>I say more money to schools and less to public stadiums for professional teams.>></p>
<p>Hear, hear Mr. B. And not just schools --- I live near a city where folks have been trying to get a new library built for years --- in that time, there's been no problem with spending millions on renovating a football stadium and building a new baseball stadium. Sigh.</p>
<p>Do you have a link listing the school districts considering this option? I think that there are less drastic alternatives that should be attempted first, but it is an interesting idea.</p>
<p>California, Here's one link: <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11864806p-12751731c.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11864806p-12751731c.html</a></p>
<p>Working families who already pay for after school care would probably come out even, paying for one-day a week care instead. But I would have concerns about the quality of that extra time. No-frills custodial care does no harm for an hour or two at the end of the day when kids are pretty saturated anyway. But a whole day of that would be bad. I think it could increase the disparity btwn kids from wealthy families and kids from poorer families. Wealthy families would quickly fill up that day with the commercial enrichment opportunities that are going to materialize. It will be like their kids attend private school one day a week.</p>
<p>There will be no solution to this sort of problem as long as school funding is tied to local property taxes. Education needs to be funded by state-wide or even federal level funding.</p>