Pros and Cons of Implementing a Four-Day School Week

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One of the primary motivations for adopting the four-day week is financial savings for the school district. Anticipated savings are in transportation, food and food service workers, hourly workers and utilities. Savings on school buses and long-term building wear and tear have also been reported. After analyzing Colorado schools operating on four-day school weeks, (Dam) reports that transportation costs can be reduced by 20%. He goes on to say that in order to realize that level of savings, schools must severely limit transportation for activities or programs not conducted on regular school days. The capital, insurance, maintenance, and administrative costs remain relatively constant. Fuel, oil, salaries, and supervisory costs can be reduced. Transportation employees will also have a reduction in net pay (Dam, 2006). In food service, (Dam) finds that if districts are funding their food service from the general fund, 20% of that subsidy may be saved since the program runs only four days. However, he does go on to say that certain fixed costs within this category will remain the same. Utility savings, he observes, may be comparable to those of a three-day weekend if the buildings are closed and actually placed on weekend cycle. However, he notes that most school buildings are left open for extra activities and the use of staff (Dam, 2006). (Hewitt and Denny) indicate savings achieved with a four-day school week vary greatly from district to district, depending on the constancy they adhere to cost saving measures. If the school facilities are completely shut down on the non-school day the saving will be greater than if buildings are left open for student and staff use. While financial savings are the main factor motivating the initi... ... middle of paper ... ...11). The four-day school week: impact on student academic performance. Retrieved from ERIC Institute of Education Sciences website: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ987605.pdf Dam, A. (2006). The four-day school week. Retrieved from ERIC Institute of Education Sciences and Colorado Department of Education website: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED497760.pdf Dixon, A. (2011). Focus on the alternative school calendar: year-round school programs and update on the four-day school week. Retrieved from Southern Regional Education Board website: http://publications.sreb.org/2011/11S01_Alt_Cal.pdf Herring, C. (2010, March 8). Schools’ new math: the four-day week. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.online.wsj.com Sheehy, K. (2013, November 20). The 4-day school week a work in progress. US News & World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com

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