Why should schools move to a 4 day week?

Proponents of a four-day school week argue that it offers several benefits, including cost savings, improved student attendance and increased teacher morale. By reducing the number of school days, schools can save money on transportation, food and energy costs.

Why should the school week be 4 days?

A shorter week makes it easier to staff schools, a particularly challenging task for rural schools, due to their geographic isolation and lower salaries. Proponents of the four-day week also say a shorter workweek could get teachers to reconsider leaving their job, or bring retirees back into the classroom.

Why are schools across the US trying a 4 day week why to retain teachers?

Why? To retain teachers 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.

How does a 4 day school week benefit students 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.

Why 5 days of school is better than 4?

Coming to school five days per week provides the best consistency and routine for children, which we believe is fundamental to strong development at this early, formative age.

More schools switching to 4-day week

Should school be 4 days a week pros and cons?

Does a 4 day school week improve grades?

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.

Does a 4 day school week reduce stress?

Better Teacher and Student Morale

Some students feel the four-day school week provides an opportunity for extra rest and a less stressful environment.

Does 4 day school week decrease bullying?

Results indicate that four-day school weeks decrease per-pupil bullying incidents by approximately 31% and per-pupil fighting incidents by approximately 27%, but have no detectable effect on other incident types, ACT scores, or attendance.

Is the US shifting to a 4 day school week?

More school districts across the U.S. have switched from a five-day to a four-day school week. With the switch, 27J Schools extended the school day by 40 minutes on weekdays. Teachers now start on Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. and their workday technically wraps up at 4:32 p.m., Fiedler explained.

Why 4 day school weeks are bad for students?

Maintaining instructional time is critical

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.

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.

What state has 4 days of school?

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.

What states have a 4 day school week?

What States Have Four-Day School Weeks? Several states have introduced four day school weeks, including Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Oregon. In fact, 60 percent of Colorado's districts and around 40 percent of New Mexico and Oregon's districts have implemented a four-day school week.

Do the Japanese go to school on a Saturday?

Until recently, Japanese children had to go to school from Monday to Saturday every week. Now, though, there are no classes on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, and beginning in April 2002 all Saturdays will be free. How is the Japanese school year divided, and how often do kids receive report cards?

Are shorter school days better?

According to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, shorter class time could also have positive effects on students' health, such as lower obesity rates, better sleep quality, and fewer mental health issues.

Why should school days be short?

Shorter days give students an opportunity to concentrate better, as human attention span is limited. More hours of sleep and reduced stress. When kids have spare time, they can use it to get more rest, which is crucial for brain development.

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.

Why 23 Utah schools have moved to 4 day weeks?

On the positive side, some schools report that four-day school weeks are a boon for educators because they have an extra day to plan lessons, grade assignments and attend teacher training opportunities.

Does a four-day week improve mental health?

A four-day work week improves employees' health in numerous ways, from reducing anxiety and stress to enabling better sleep and more time for exercise, according to a large new report.

Can longer school days cause stress?

With such long hours, the students are often left with little to no time to complete their homework and this can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety. Moreover, the long hours can take away from the quality of education that students are getting.

How does school affect mental health?

When facing academic stress, adolescents and young adults are more likely to develop anxiety or depression. They also experience less well-being and tend to do poorly in school. When given a better academic situation, or academic support, research suggests that students experience improved mental health.

Do longer school days improve grades?

In short, it's likely that longer school days won't be an effective way to raise achievement without other factors already being in place. Supporting this notion is the fact that U.S. teachers already spend more time in the classroom than most other developed nations,^§ many of which have higher student achievement.

How can I make my school 4 days go by faster?

Do longer school days improve student achievement?

Some studies have been done that show that longer instruction time can improve achievement, but those results depend on things like classroom environment, quality of instruction, student prior knowledge and ability. This means that a longer day does not necessarily correlate with higher achievement.