(Disclaimer: four-day weeks is not something that is happening in Milford Public Schools)
School. Homework. Sports. Clubs. Work. High school students have packed schedules, and finding free time is not easy. One fix to this problem is four-day school weeks, which are not anything new.
According to the National Congress of State Legislatures (NCSL), 850 school districts in the United States utilize the four day school week schedule. Most of the schools that use this schedule are in the West, in states like California, Arizona, Washington, New Mexico, and Nevada, but there are also schools that use this schedule in more eastern states like Texas, Florida, and Georgia.
There are multiple positives to four-day school weeks, like improved focus levels in students, better attendance, more time to get work done, and more time for students and teachers to improve their mental health with rest, extracurriculars, and socialization.
Sophomore Michael Doyle states, “I believe four-day school weeks are beneficial because it allows time for students and teachers to focus on their mental health and take some time to relax from the busy school week.”
Along with the benefits, potential negatives also have to be accounted for. Parents of students who work during the day and do not want their children to be home alone will not be able to tend to their children’s needs.
Another potential problem is a longer school day. This could be bad for students that are not able to sit in class for very long periods of time. This also limits time after school each day for extracurriculars, and students also have to do homework on top of that, leaving little to no time for relaxing.
A big issue is cost saving. Will schools be able to save money with a four-day schedule, and how much can they save every year with the schedule implemented?
“The maximum possible cost savings for districts on a four day week is 5.43%,” according to the NCSL.
With improved attendance and student and teacher morale, the academic success of students should be higher, but a report from Oregon State University shows that there are very little academic effects on students.
Whether people think that four-day school weeks are beneficial or not, it is definitely something that is on the rise in the United States, and is already implemented in many schools around Europe. The American academic system is falling behind compared to European academics. Will the four day school week become the new future?
