Four Day School Week Benefits

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The Benefits of a Four-Day School Week Did you know that going to school four days a week instead of five actually has incredible benefits? Four-day schooling allows cost savings in multiple areas, amazing academic achievements, and a big change in overall morale and attendance, these advantages show that four-day schooling is a good way to go. The biggest reason most schools decide to switch to a four-day schedule is for the cost saving benefits. Langley School District has been using the four-day schedule for three years to save costs, savings amounted to two percent of the school systems budget, this is equivalent to $200,000 a year. “This savings came from reduced transportation, overtime hours for support staff, compensation costs, and …show more content…

Twelve Mondays each year are used for teacher planning, this allows them the benefit of not having to meet after school very often. During these Mondays teachers have time for meetings just within the grades they teach, and they have time to form research teams and other committees (Yarbrough and Gilman). These teacher planning groups are add-ons that some schools maybe wouldn’t get the opportunity to have if not for the extra planning day. There’s proof in the pudding; the more time teacher’s have to plan, the better they are at doing their jobs. One district compared their tests on comprehension from the spring of 2002-03, when they were doing a five-day schedule, to the spring of 2004-05, when they ran a four-day week. These tests showed that scores for 3rd and 9th graders improved in all areas tested. Out of all academic achievements ACT scores definitely have the most riding on them. “Merryville’s district spokesperson Daniele LeMarie said, ‘ACT scores are above state averages and have raised from 18.7 with the five-day week to 20 with the new schedule.’” (Chmelynski). Just this news seemed to boost parents attitudes towards the switch, and it even had a positive effect on the kids thoughts on the …show more content…

Switching to four days instead of five showed a huge boost in students overall morale and even increased attendance. “A lot of districts that switched showed a decline in dropout rates, decreased disciplinary referrals, improved attendance, fewer class interruptions, and more positive attitudes” (Yarbrough and Gilman). An exceptional amount of teachers noticed the difference in absences, and that students behavior had become better. They also noticed that they had more time to teach due to less of their time going to transition periods

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