4-day school week has students celebrating, parents trying to solve child care gap

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Hundreds of school systems around the country have adopted four-day weeks in recent years, mostly in rural and western parts of the U.S. Districts cite cost savings and advantages for teacher recruitment. Still, some experts question the effects on students who already missed out on significant learning during the pandemic. For parents, there is also the added complication, and cost, of arranging child care for that extra weekday. In Missouri, the number of districts routinely getting three-day weekends has more than doubled since the pandemic hit. Some lawmakers have pushed back, arguing students need more time with teachers.

On this Monday, Brandi Pruente was home because Hudson had a mysterious rash on his arm. Most weeks, her oldest would be in charge, with occasional help from grandparents. She has no interest in paying for the child care option the district is offering for $30 per day. Multiplied by several kids, it adds up.

In more than 13,000 school districts nationwide, nearly 900 operate on a truncated schedule, up from 662 in 2019 and a little more than 100 in 1999, said Paul Thompson, an associate professor of economics at Oregon State University. In Missouri, the number of districts routinely getting three-day weekends has more than doubled since the pandemic hit, from 12% to 30%. Some Missouri lawmakers have pushed back, arguing students need more time with teachers. One failed legislative proposal would have let students in four-day districts transfer or attend private schools, with their home districts picking up the tab.

Other districts soon follow, making shortened schedules a “Band-Aid” solution with diminishing returns, Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said.In some communities, a four-day week is better for families. In the Turner district in north-central Montana, taking Fridays off avoids situations such as basketball games played at districts three or more hours away that leave only a small number of students at school, Superintendent Tony Warren said.

However, the Rand Corporation found achievement differences in four-day districts, while initially hard to spot, became apparent over multiple years.

 

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