4 Day School Week

Should We Adopt The Four-Day School Week? Imagine only having to go to school four days a week, for some kids that 's a reality. Some topics I will be discussing in this paper are, where do students go on the Monday/Friday they have off, will the district save money with the extra day off, and how do kids perform in class with the extra day off? The four day school week is a relatively new idea that some schools are beginning to implement in rural areas. The shorter week can help the schools save money without the extra day to operate and have also demonstrated some unexpected positive changes like students performing better on tests, higher grades, and better behavior. The four-day school week has minimal flaws when compared to a five-day

Ideally the school should save 20% but the districts usually end up saving a lot less. "While schools do have the potential to trim millions of dollars from their budgets each year by moving to a four-day week, it doesn 't always work out that way. The actual savings amount usually varies from 0.4% to 2.5% in the districts that have made the change" (Lake). The main factor to this is location, some districts have saved millions switching to the four-day school week. "Where a particular school district is located may determine to some extent how much money can actually be saved by implementing a four-day week. In 2011, for instance, Minnesota 's North Branch district saved $123,000, which seems like chump change compared to the $7 million in spending cuts realized by Duval County, Florida" (Lake). Regardless of how small the percentage, districts have the potential to save thousands of dollars which can seem appealing to schools in need of additional

"Bus drivers, cafeteria employees and custodians typically see the most negative effects from switching to a four-day week. If they 're not able to make up their hours, they risk seeing their paychecks shrink by as much as 20%" (Lake). This can make for hiring staff to perform these duties far more difficult with knowing they only get paid on a four-day salary. One of the largest problems with the shorter week is that it will affect families with younger kids. "For working parents, the four-day school week often presents more problems than solutions as they scramble to find suitable childcare for the extra day off. For one Minnesota school district, it was estimated that a shorter schedule would cost families an extra $600 per year in childcare expenses" (Lake). That 's not the only problem that arises, children who are too old for child care are often left unsupervised for 8+