Henry Ford, among others, was one of the first industry leaders to adopt the five-day work week with a two-day weekend in 1926, shortening it from its previous six-day length. This schedule then became the norm for the American workforce for nearly a century. Recently, however, many schools have defected from the standard by shortening their instructional week.
Four-day school weeks have become increasingly popular over the past couple of years, particularly in rural schools due to staffing shortages and budget constraints. Having a shorter week not only helps reduce operating expenses, but also makes the school more appealing to staff members.
Nearly one-third of Oregon’s schools have made the switch. Corbett High School, located in Corbett, Oregon, half an hour east of Portland, operates on the four-day schedule. Prior to being hired at Corbett, the school’s principal, Kathy Childress, had only worked in schools with a five-day schedule. She notes that one of the main differences between the two is the length of the school days: the school makes up for the lost fifth day by lengthening the remaining four. Corbett’s instructional hours are from 7:55 a.m. to 3:47 p.m., an hour longer than most five-day schedules. Childress says that the school has high overall academic performance, with 65% of students graduating with AP credits. Teachers in particular, Childress says, find the shorter weeks appealing. “The four day week is why I think we don’t have (teacher) turnover,” she says. “Teachers do their student teaching here and never leave.”
Another Oregon school that has turned to shorter school weeks is Imbler High School. Imbler’s principal, Mike Mills, says that the extra day off helped students stay caught up with school work: “Teachers were available on Fridays for any student that needed extra help,” he says in an article from The Clypian, South Salem High School’s news publication. “The increase in energy for both students and staff was noted during this time. The overall attitude of our population was positive.” Imbler has since moved back to a five-day week. However, Fridays are half days, with classes ending at 12:05 p.m.
Four-day weeks have been highly discouraged in some other states. Paul Fregeau, Superintendent of the Fox C-6 School District in Arnold, Missouri, chose not to make the switch as the state allots additional funding for schools that maintain five-day weeks.
Another benefit of the new schedule was revealed in a survey conducted at Missouri State University. Out of 6,648 students, staff and families, the majority saw improvements because of the shorter week schedule. Many families surveyed reported that their child’s academic success had stayed constant or improved with the implementation of four-day school weeks. Out of all the parents surveyed, the majority said they saw an increase in their child’s interest and engagement in schooling, reporting that the shorter weeks reduced stress and increased student attendance.
Despite the many positive impacts, there are negative implications that come the change. A recent study conducted by the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research found that students in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado who attend schools with four-day weeks performed worse in reading than students at schools with five-day weeks. The study also shows that while the implementation of a four-day school week didn’t make a vast difference on students attending rural schools, the academic performance of students attending schools in towns or suburbs dropped considerably.
Under a shortened schedule, student athelete’s absences considerably worsened. With fewer days in the week, classes in schools that use four-day schedules tend to run later causing students leaving for early games to miss a significant portion of the day. “We do a lot of travel for athletics, and so Tuesdays (and) Thursdays, kids are missing the last two hours of their school day,” says Childress. “That’s tough for the athletes.”
In terms of meeting the yearly required hours of instruction, it could be possible for Grant High School to meet the mandatory time if days were extended, following a similar schedule to Corbett High School.
However there are many things to consider when determining the schedule for a school district. The adoption of a four-day school week could have both positive and negative impacts, so testing it out may be the only way to determine whether or not it’s the right choice for Grant and the wider district.
