Many students wish to have a 4-day school week, but some of those students have not investigated the pros and cons for them, teachers, or other families. In 2020 there were schools that switched to a 4-day school week according to the CBS News, article “More US. school districts are shifting to a 4-day week. Here’s Why”. Originally there were 650 districts that switched to 4-day school weeks and now there are more than 850 districts that have made this change. Although we still do not know if our community will make this change anytime soon, we can expect what could happen with a 4-day school week and a new schedule for students if the district decides to follow other districts in the changes they made at the start of COVID-19. These are some of the pros and cons of a 4-day school week:
Pros:
- Some districts are giving money to families to help them with childcare on the fifth day of the week
- Schools can cut budgets because of this, the schools that have done this have saved 0.41% to 2.5% according to the National Conference of State Legislatures
- Teachers could use the fifth day to tutor students or develop their teaching skills
- This could also help retain and recruit teachers because of the national teacher shortage that is happening
- This could give students and teachers more time to spend with families or friends
- Students could use the fifth day as a break from their mental health or could use it to catch up on work they missed or have not done
- Students can find more exciting things that they are passionate about outside of school
Cons:
- Districts could make the school days longer for 30-40 minutes longer to meet their academic standards
- Parents or teachers could be furious because they could think that it could affect their academic skills
- The schedule is going to be indictable
- The longer days could be hard on little ones who are in elementary
- Fewer meals are provided at school for kids that have a lower income
- Impact on the extracurricular activities
What are your thoughts?
