What are the benefits of having shorter school days?

Shorter school days gives the student more time outside of school to accommodate other aspects of their life. This means a student finally has the time to maintain and work on their mental health. Whether this is in the form of getting restful sleep, decompressing, or pursuing hobbies!

Why are shorter school days better?

Starting schools for shorter time mean well-rested students with 8 hours of sleep with their superhero capes ready. Studies suggest that shorter school week give attendance and test scores a high-five! The four-day school week could help students and teachers reduce their stress and fatigue from the long workday.

What are the benefits of shorter class periods?

Students get less bored in classes and have to focus for shorter amounts of time. Short classes mean that the students focus more, and go through the lesson fast and well. According to Maneuvering the Middle, shorter classes mean that the pace of learning is fast, and ideally, there is less off-task behavior.

What are the cons of a 4 day school week?

One study found that the four-day week may hurt reading scores more than math scores. A large study released last year found that the shorter schedule held back student achievement in small-town and suburban districts but had little or no effect in rural districts.

Why should school days not be longer?

Limits Time for Other Activities

From sports to music to dance, many children participate in extracurricular activities designed to teach them new skills and enrich their lives. A longer school day could make participating in extracurriculars more difficult. It can also reduce the free time children need.

Shorter School Days and How They Are BETTER For Students!

Why would shorter school days be bad?

Our children could end up losing large amounts of classroom learning - and then they would need even more private lessons to close the education gap. There is no possible way to reduce the day by even one hour without a negative effect on how much and how well our children learn.

Why school should not be 4 days a week?

By moving to a four-day school week, a district inadvertently places working parents in a position of doling out more money for childcare—something many cannot afford. In addition, some families experiencing food insecurity rely on public schools for nearly half of their meals.

Is the US shifting to a 4 day school week?

Many school districts around the U.S. are moving to a four-day school week to retain teachers. Districts that don't want to raise taxes to pay teachers more are using the long weekend as an incentive.

Why is 5 days of school better than 4?

Fewer hours mean lower grades, research shows

Students on a four-day schedule, especially those with the least hours in school, have lower English language arts and math scores than students on a five-day schedule.

How many days a year do Chinese students go to school?

School days are longer and holidays are shorter. On average, under the current system the length of the secondary school year is 245 days. Chinese pupils get around four weeks off in winter, and seven weeks in summer, including weekends and all kinds of traditional festivals.

What are the cons of shorter school days?

Why should classes be 45 minutes?

Students' attention spans are only so long. 45 minutes means that the pace is quick, and there is no time to waste. Students can feel that urgency! Ideally, this means that there is less off-task behavior and students can stay focused.

How long is too long for a class period?

How long is too long? Some teachers say it's hard to keep students' attention for more than 50 or 60 minutes, especially in middle school or 9th and 10th grade. But in most cases, this isn't a student-based issue. More often, it's a lack of training or tools for faculty members to teach in extended periods.

Is a shorter school week less stressful?

Indeed, in the 12 rural school districts we visited, school administrators, teachers, students, and parents reported that the shorter week did indeed improve school morale. Teachers reported feeling less burned out and missing fewer instructional days due to illness or exhaustion.

What country has the shortest school day?

If you're short on time, here's a quick answer to your question: Finland has one of the shortest average school days in the world at just 5 hours.

Why should schools have shorter summer breaks?

Less Summer Learning Loss

Advocates of year-round calendar systems often cite reduced summer learning loss as a reason to shift away from the traditional calendar. The logic here seems sound – since students have shorter summer breaks, there's less time to forget what they learned during the school year.

What state has 4 day school week?

Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have had four-day schools for a long time. They are a more recent addition in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. The states are gatekeepers in a way, mandating a minimum number of instructional days or hours.

Is Florida switching to 4 day school week?

Four day workweek trials

A Florida school board is "trying something new" by adding four-day weekends to the school calendar to combat absenteeism. Pasco County School board members voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve three of these "mini-breaks" in October, February and April for the 2024-2025 school year.

Does 4 day school week improve mental health?

A four day school week will help alleviate some of the rising stress levels in our students, while aiming to enhance student, teacher, and parent mental health. It will help provide better opportunities, allow for time to strengthen families, and shift towards student-centered learning.

Is Saturday a school day in USA?

The typical school week in America is Monday through Friday. Some schools offer Saturday School also, but that isn't too common. The exception might be parochial schools which are Jewish or Muslim schools as their Sabbath days are not on Sundays.

How does a 4 day school week affect grades?

At first blush, a 2022 study of the effects of shortened school schedules in 12 states seems pretty bleak. Nationwide, researchers found significantly lower math and English/language arts achievement at schools using four-day weeks during the time period from 2009-2018 than in schools using a traditional schedule.

Is Minnesota going to 4 day school week?

Minnesota school districts are switching from the traditional five day school week to a four day week in an attempt to reduce school district expenditures. The four day week can have several important implications that are of interest to the State's tourism industry.

What are the benefits of having a 5 day school week?

Having a five day week can have a lower turnout for attendance over a shorter one. Fewer days gets rid of stress from students as well, because if they have to miss school, they will automatically receive makeup work.

Does Washington have 4 day school week?

The rural district in Eastern Washington is one of 10 districts in Washington state that now operate on a four-day school schedule. Across the nation, the trend toward four-day school weeks is picking up speed. More than 1,600 schools across 24 states now have four-day weeks.