4 Day School Week Research Paper

A lot of parents are shaking their heads at the consideration of a four-day school week, and a longer school day. Shorter school weeks or longer school days are reasonable solutions when there is a shortage of funding, or possible budget cuts coming to the school district. This solution has many mixed opinions from parents, teachers and school board members.

Also, there would be an improvement of attendance. Some district representatives that have implemented four-day school weeks report that attendance has improved for teachers and students. The Melstone School District in Melstone, Mont., has reported statistics indicating that their attendance improved as much as 20% over a two-year period after moving to a four-day school week. Chattooga County School District also reported an improvement in attendance since implementing its four-day school week.

I honestly don’t have a problem with a four day school week. In fact, I would really enjoy it if our school made that change. However, not everybody agrees with me. In this editorial, I will explain why having a four day school week will make Peetz better.

School has played a predominant role in young Americans’ lives for centuries. While parents worked a full five-day week, children were able to learn, socialize, and be safe while their parents were away. The same is true of today’s society. However, some schools are introducing a new concept -- a four-day school week. Although much controversy is raging over this topic, the overall acceptance has been high. Therefore, New Castle Schools should become part of this growing trend and go to a four-day school week.

Attendance is impacted in a positive way with a four day school week. With the research that has been done with attendance and those students who are enrolled in school which run on a four day school week schedule have seen improvement with attendance. They have seen an increased improvement in attendance with a four day school week, because many parents are able to schedule their child’s appointments on the days off from school. With having and increased attendance from that extra day off it means that students are able to get the most out of their schedule. Student are able to take advantage of the days that are available to them in the classroom and are also less likely to miss out on class

This paper includes a reference list of literature relating to the pros and cons of changing a five day school week to a four day school week. In general, the literature seems to indicate that most of the reasoning behind this change is to lower energy and fuel costs as well as cut budgets to an affordable rate. Academic progress is evaluated in some cases and discussion of what decisions have been made in the use of the fifth unscheduled day have been researched. Some suggest to use the “off” day for professional development as well as an opportunity to offer additional student extracurricular activities. The difficulty of finding childcare for the unscheduled school day seemed to be an issue that was more prevalent in suburban school districts rather than rural districts. Each individual school district had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the shortened week and decide what worked best for their students, teachers, community.

The pros of four-day school are good for saving districts money. The one day off saving money on the service they pay to help the student such as transportation. The four day school week improve student and teacher attendance. On the extra day off they could schedule dentist appoint it and other appointments that need to be done, This means fewer substitute teachers. A teacher with the day off come back to school refresh and focus on the week. On the day of student and teacher can spend time with their families. They could go to a museum or go hiking and bond together.

Imagine a school year that gave the students one week off after every quarter and every Friday off. Does this sound exciting and rich with possibilities? 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. Next, parents would not have to get day care except on Fridays instead of the whole summer. Finally, teachers and students would have better relationships as they spend more time together instead of being rushed. Let’s take a look at some proof.

Did you know that over 40 schools have changed to a four day school week? (2) Switching to a four day school week can save millions of dollars. (4) Most schools nationwide that have transferred to a shorter week are seeing vigorous effects. (3) A four day school week provides benefits for everyone. (2) There are many improvements shown in academics and attendance. (3)

Why do we hate going to school? Why are we sluggish all day? Why do some people get too tired to put full effort into a test? People are tired of these unfair school hours. Things need to change; but how? Well, there's plenty of options. Schools should be on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s, with a week break every two weeks, starting at 9:00 a.m. and goes year round.

We all strive for higher scores in school. A four-day week may provide just that. Students have more time on school days, giving them the opportunity to learn more each and every hour they spend in their classrooms. Even teachers have more time to learn from their peers about their lessons and ways of teaching, so they can improve it to fit their students. A four-day school week may provide higher quality resources, as there are only four days to use them. It saves the school financially in times of low budgets, and that unscheduled day saves at least 1.5% more than schools who stick to the regular five-day week. The mediocre quality of supplies gradually decreases as more weeks spent as a four-day week slowly increase. Students with four-day school weeks had proven themselves they deserved that schedule with their academic scores, which have increased throughout the year. They have better attendance, because they have more time for extracurricular activities and appointments outside of school. A four-day school week may be just what we need.

The overall logistics run much smoother in schools that have four day weeks compared to the five day week. “Some districts had experienced a decline in dropout rates, decreased disciplinary referrals, improved attendance, fewer class interruptions, more positive attitudes about school, and better staff development” (Yarbrough and Gilman 81). Another logistical benefit to having four day school week is that students have more time to get involved in extracurricular activities due to more availability

Four day school weeks have been discussed by many schools, and some schools already have them. Many say that the four day school week is good for students. It is also good for teachers and the whole school. There are improvements in the school financially. Financial problems is was most of a four day school week is about.

According to a report from the New York City district, a school that received funds for longer days fared better on standardized tests. This school had seven percent more students scoring at or above grade level in reading, when two other schools had increases of five and six percent. In math, three percent of students scored at or above grade level in a school with a longer day, compared with one percent for a low performing school and an average of one percent for other schools (Brett 1). This information is one example of many studies that illustrate that long school days have a great positive impact on school performance. The main school goals are improving students’ knowledge and building different skills that will help them in the future. Therefore, if longer school days support these educational goals, people should be concerned about improving schools by lengthening the day.

School is expensive for the U.S. A 4 day school week would save the district money. A 4 day school week has been proven to improve attendance. According to Hill, “Oklahoma district, saved $110,000 per year out of its $12 million budget by switching to a four-day week”(Hill). All doctor, dentist etc would be scheduled on that extra day off. That extra day would give kids another extra day to rest and relax. A 4 day school week would give kids more time to spend with their