Administrative staff are required to be on-site, sports Small group learning with discussion, for example, increases the information retention rate for students up to 80%. It is possible to have a negative impact on some laboratory classes by reducing the number of minutes in class each day. Shorter Classes: Depending on your school's summer schedule, you can complete a semester's worth of work in eight, five, or even three weeks. We call for a relatively radical and certainly quite comprehensive reorganization of Americas P-20 system. When it comes to school, we most likely understand what its like to go to school all year. To compare, a regular semester generally lasts 16-18 weeks. Such as emotional and behavioral problems, violence, depression, alcohol use, impaired cognitive function, etc. The school day is too long. Revisiting Using Edtech for Bullying and Suicide Prevention. 4 day school week would be better for schools without a doubt because you save money and kids will be more refreshed and not burned out also their behavior is showed to become better. Money is saved on that day because they don't have to run lights, heater or AC. School districts consider shorter school days for several reasons, including saving money and providing students the ability to participate in more extracurricular activities. Spread the loveBuilding a culturally responsive classroom is hard. That means the average cost, per student, is about $700. The move toward a shorter workweek is gaining momentum. Out of a budget of $5.5 million, they saved $206,000. There are improvements in the school financially. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extended School Days Advantage: More time to devote to learning. We can all agree that school feels like it lasts forever. In 2022, companies in the U.K., the U.S., and Canada instituted a four-day workweek pilot program to test the concept. Dr. Kelly S. Meier - Updated May 03, 2019, Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, NavajoCode: Unbiased Longer School Days Pros and Cons. Spread the loveThe International Baccalaureate Program is a very intensive pre-college program in which when students get involved, they get college credit. Some school districts shifted to a 4-day week not because of financial needs, but others did so to make it easier to schedule sporting events or after-school activities. The most popular is a 32-hour work week, which means people work 8 hours per day, 4 hours in a week. flexibility is why they are such staunch proponents of the 4-day school schedule. Students can adjust to the new schedule. The National School Board Association estimates that approximately 135,000 guns are brought to America's 85,000 public schools each day. While small gains were made in reading, math and writing, there were no statistically significant results for children in the areas of receptive language, social skills or vocabulary. Teachers are frequently overworked and required to perform tasks that are outside their job description. 5. When teachers are more effective and efficient, student performance follows a similar pattern. According to new research, the four-day week is a popular way for parents and students to spend quality time together. Students spend less time on the bus. Some families find that aligning the school day with typical parent work schedules is a family-friendly approach. Christmas and Spring holiday weeks may be extended as well. Finally, some parents worry that shorter days could mean that their children would have less time to participate in extracurricular activities. Shorter school days should be utilized in the U.S. education system as it comes with many benefits. If young kids are too weary to concentrate or perform well in class, they may experience weariness or fall asleep during class time. To be competitive in a global market, students need to be exposed to a wide variety of subject matter. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Signup for The Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in P-20 education news and opinion delivered to your email address! Other popular year-round schedules are the 60-20 and 90-30 calendars, where students are in class for 60 or 90 days with vacations of 20 or 30 days respectively. teams may need to practice, professional development sessions may convene, etc. flexibility to teachers schedules and as a result, makes their jobs more A longer school day would involve substantial funding for teacher salaries and facility maintenance. There are some drawbacks to shorter school days, as well. Although the final outcome was beneficial the origins of the extended day was not welcomed. There are several major pros and cons of a 4-day school week which must be considered by school districts looking to make this kind of change. Class runs Monday- Thursday with an added 40-60 minutes each day to compensate for the lost time by not having the schools run on Fridays. Since students receive dedicated 1:1 teaching for all core subjects, they don't need to bother spending time on topics that aren't on their instructional level. 2. Year-Round Schedules Many people think of the school year as starting in August or at the beginning of September and continuing for 10 months. Many schools are, in fact, offering year-round services now to accommodate the changing needs of their communities. Con: A longitudinal study in New Mexico looked at the performance difference in K-3 students from seven different school districts. First, it would give students more time to focus on their homework and studies outside of school. It would also be beneficial to reduce the week in order to promote activity participation. Shorter, intense courses in which a semesters worth of content is delivered at an expedited rate were deemed to be more successful by students in a recent study by academics at the University of Texas at Austin. Staying at school for the majority of the day isn't allowing me . 1. NEA Today: A 9 to 5 School Day: Are Longer Hours Better for Students and Educators? I say this because we would have to start. 4. But the extra money hasn't gone into teachers' salaries, which have dropped on average from . not just on the weekdays when students were out of school. What we envisage may not be the most straightforward or the most conventional ideas. Recent survey findings show that four-day school weeks have been adopted as a way to alleviate budgetary issues, attract teachers, and reduce student absencesissues that the pandemic . Kids that go to schools with the 4-day week are often happier, stay happy throughout the school year, and look forward to going to school each day. Spread the loveAre you looking for ways to teach students appropriate mealtime manners? The schools who did switch the expenses reduced by 20%, transportation would reduce also by 20%, and the average district could have saving of 5.43% total budget. Having students to fit 5 days' worth of classroom time into 4 days would make for a tiring schedule, where many of the younger school children would find it very difficult to focus on their study for such long periods. 6. Extending the school year may help make teaching a full-time, more lucrative profession for educators if year-round schools can cut costs through . Shorter class durations allow students to enroll in a variety of courses. Bisbee Unified School District (AZ) saved $154,000, Duval County Public School (FL) saved $7 million, and Lake Superior School District (MN) $200,000. Spread the loveAre you looking for strategies to teach students appropriate mealtime manners? Those against extended lunches might argue . In 1095or in 1905, depending on your sourcesRoberto Nevelis of Venice, Italy, is often credited with inventing the concept of homework. With the 4-day schedule, another 1.5 hours is added to their school day, every day. What Grades Is Elementary School? This solution has many mixed opinions from parents, teachers and. The University of New Mexico Newsroom: Research Study Yields Unexpected Conclusion About Longer School Years. Each community has unique needs which must be met, so there is the possibility of a 4-day week being useful to some districts, but not others. A change in schedule is an adjustment for school officials, students and families. There are many financial benefits from a 4 day school week.With only 4 days in a week, that is one less day theschool has to pay for lunches . Your email address will not be published. Increasing the length of school days may result in attention deficit and exhaustion, rendering the additional class time unproductive. 4 Day School Week Pros and Cons. The disadvantage is that more time does not equate to more learning. Increases student attendance. Wildbit, a company based in the US, a portion of whose workforce works remotely, tested the 4-day week to see whether the shorter working hours will affect employee productivity. 5. One is that students might not have enough time to receive all the instruction they need in a particular subject. It's almost the end of the first semester, and realizations are starting to set in. Well, for some rural schools across the nation, this has become a reality. . A story on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's website said: They saved 1.4%, or $45,000, instead. Decreased need to re-teach skills after long vacations, allowing teachers to use classroom time more efficiently. The four-day week did not appear to affect. The majority of these are found in the western United States, including Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Oklahoma, Thompson said. Others believe that lengthening the school day is an expensive endeavor that wont yield substantial results. To avoid this issue, many school districts have considered shifting to a 4-day school week. The Pros and Cons of Year-Round Schools. What are the Pros and Cons of 4-Day School Weeks? Those that had implemented the alternative scheduling found that student attendance could rise by more than 20. If schools only had one day off per week, millions of dollars would be saved. Overall, a shorter school schedule resulted in a 7% increase in math scores and a 3% gain in reading. Along with giving kids more time to concentrate on critical activities, a shortened school day would also provide pupils with more opportunity to relax. It changes the holiday schedules for the school district. List of the Major Cons of a 4-Day School Week 1. A 4 day work week would promote an equal workplace as employees would be able to spend more time with their families and better juggle care and work commitments. How does it impact your success? . This is one reason school districts use to implement dress codes. That is a lot of time taken away, but if the school days were shortened, you would have a lot more time to do your activities. A switch to a 4-day schedule gives teachers more time to use teaching styles that are more effective. By switching to a 4-day school week, the number of transitions can be reduced because more time can be spent on each subject. 5. School Evaluation For Special Education What Parents Need to Know, Effectively Educating Diverse Student Populations: Strategies That Work - Applead Hofu, The Importance Of Sight Words In Early Reading GoGreenva.org, Online Education in Chennai - Birla Brainiacs, Advancing Technology Education in Rural High Schools Across - The Tech Edvocate - VSAY .IN. Your email address will not be published. Students with less sleep have difficulty paying attention in class and are likely to have lower grades. Shorter days can only be seen as a positive thing and would benefit students, teacher, and administrators. It is a program for mostly rural and small school districts. 4-day school weeks add Longer school days may have some positive impact on student achievement, but research on their effects is lacking. Most students in the four-day districts80 percent of high school students and 90 percent of elementary studentsspent their "off day" at home. Extending the school days even longer would further cut into valuable time to bond with family. When I was a teacher, many moons ago, this was a fringe schooling schedule only practiced by rural school districts. Data is an important variable if youre considering the longer school days pros and cons list. Financial problems is was most of a four day school week is about. There are a few reasons why shorter school days could be beneficial. Potential for juvenile crime to increase. Underperforming schools and the lagging performance of U.S. students in comparison to other countries is a concern. Some educators believe that extending the school day until 5:00 p.m. is the answer. Their child is at home while they are at work, which is problematic for parents of younger children. Second, it would allow students to get more sleep, which is important for their health and well-being. Teacher time will be increased when the school day is extended, allowing them to spend more time with pupils and to concentrate on problem areas and more challenging content. Shorter school days should be used in the United States education system since they have several advantages. Cutting that by 20% means a savings of $4 billion, if implemented nationwide. Students in a 4-day school week are packing 180 days into a condensed 145-day schedule. You should approach these strategies with your childs teacher instead of punishing him or her. That may mean reducing Spring Break to 2 days instead of having the entire week off. The school day could be shortened to give children and teenagers more time for movement, brain breaks, and other activities that have been shown to increase learning outcomes. The average time for school that is scheduled in a 4-day week is either 7:30am-5pm or 8am-5:30pm. Another is that shorter days could lead to shorter attention spans in classrooms. Employment opportunities with a 3-day weekend are increasing. Many recommend that teens get at least eight hours of sleep to feel well rested and . Their students were more focused because they were more rested, which equated to fewer classroom disruptions. On the plus side, employees love it. However, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with shortening the school day that should be considered before sweeping action is taken to alter the traditional school day. Alexander Alvarez, Reporter November 16, 2021. In the 4-day school week Kids already spend a very long time each week in the school and away from their family. The driving force behind the proposal to lengthen the school day is the assertion that more instructional time would yield greater academic gains. Finally, shorter school days could result in less time for extracurricular activities, which could have a negative impact on student morale. According to the vast majority of states, spanking your child is against the law. The four-day week, according to the research, is far more cost-effective than the traditional five-day week. In Alabama, the school year lasts 180 days and the school day lasts 7.03 hours. That is because larger districts offer more activities, manage more student events, and operate essentially 7 days per week during the school year anyway. Eleven states set the minimum number of instructional days between 160 and 179 days, and two states set the minimum above 180 days (Kansas and Ohio). This leads to added costs that some families, living paycheck to paycheck, may not be able to afford. Pro: An extended school day provides more time for students to learn and the possibility of providing individualized attention for students in need. The Melstone School District in Montana also shifted to a 4-day school week. It has been so problematic that in Colorado, some urban districts which switched to a 4-day school week have gone back to the traditional scheduling instead. Con: A lengthened school day may impede upon extracurricular activities, especially in secondary education. Some districts have seen their disciplinary issues decline by more than 70% in the first two years of implementing a 4-day schedule. It is encouraged for students to try new things in order to benefit from them. Changing the system could result in many more. Public school everything for schoolchildren and students. All of these consequences just because nobody wants to shorten the school day. Parents can drop-off their kids in the morning, then pick them up in the afternoon, without worrying about work. Some students believe that having a four-day school week allows them to get more rest and to be in a less stressful atmosphere than they would otherwise have. List of Cons of Implementing 4-Day School Weeks 1. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Mass., has risen from a Level 5 to a Level 1 after implementing extended learning time. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. NOTE : The information on this website is for general information purposes only. "I get really tired throughout the day and I would love shorter school hours." It takes about 4-years for schools to get these students back on track academically. Anticipated savings are in transportation, food and food service workers, hourly workers and utilities. The shorter the school day, the better? Here are a few: 1. That additional day can also be used for staff development time instead of taking away a school day to do so. Students feel less pressure because they have more time to study at their own pace at home, especially in the later grades. Pros of the 4-day School Week. The idea has been to cut hours while keeping pay the same. The. Why did they switch to 4-day school weeks? Here are some additional key points to think about when looking at the pros and cons of a 4-day school week. Spread the loveTeachers need to realize that at home, in their neighborhoods, and in school, many students face difficulties that can interfere with learning. Approximately 1,800 schools in the U.S. have extended learning hours, but there are many pros and cons of extended school days. You still have to go to practice, and dont forget the piles of homework that need done. The ability to offer a 3-day weekend, every weekend, is a powerful motivator for school districts that are recruiting for quality employees. Then ask the superintendent of the school district to consider year round school with only four days per week.First, students would not forget what they learned over the long summer. Over the course of their first year on this new schedule, they reported that the frequency of discipline referrals for their students dropped by 73%. Some are facing the debate about whether to keep standardized tests or not. While some research has shown that increasing the amount of time spent in class can boost student accomplishment, these findings have been influenced by factors such as the classroom atmosphere, the quality of instruction, and students prior knowledge and abilities. Advantages Of Five Day School Week Traditional Five Day Class Week Should be Resumed Samantha, a freshman college student taking up Bachelor of Science in Nursing, values her education so much. This extra hour can make the day pretty long especially for younger students, which can often lead to a loss of focus later in the day. This has been a hot topic especially the states that dont have as large of an economy. If so, keep reading. Children have more time to participate in other activities that help them learn more. Many school The Peach County School District in Georgia saw that their graduation rates slowly increased year after year when they switched to a 4-day school week. The capital, insurance, maintenance, and administrative costs remain relatively constant.