- n Oklahoma, 97 of their 513 school districts only have a four-day school week, and more states are looking to follow their lead
- The shortened week helps the districts deal with budget cuts, and also provides them the ability to recruit more high-quality teachers
- Experts warn that in urban areas it could be an issue due to childcare and kids getting into trouble during that extra day off
Ask any kid and they’ll tell you that five days of school each week feels endless, but in some parts of the country kids don’t have to deal with such torture because they are only going to school for four days each week.
In Oklahoma, 97 of their 513 school districts only have a four-day school week. Administrators say the shortened week helps the districts deal with budget cuts, and also provides them the ability to recruit more high-quality teachers. And kids don’t lose out on schooling, since most public education is governed by hours, so they still get the required hours of schooling a year.
Oklahoma isn’t the only state willing to try the shortened week. Several other urban districts facing budget issues and teacher retention problems are looking to the shorter week as a way to solve their problems. In fact, 24 states, including Colorado, Montana and Oregon, have schools with the four-day weeks, and more are expected.
- And it’s not just good for the school districts, parents, teachers and administrators say kids’ performance and attendance has improved, as has morale among students and teachers. What’s more, it’s a definite perk to help land high-quality teachers who like the idea of a three-day weekend.
- Of course, not everything is perfect. Experts warn that as more urban areas try to adopt the policy, problems like finding childcare for kids when they aren’t in school, or trouble kids could get to with that extra day off can increase. Experts say in rural areas where the short week has been adopted, there is usually at least one parent or grand parent at home, which takes away the childcare issue, but that’s not usually the case in urban areas.
Source: NBC News