Johnson County Central

The Four Day School Week

The Four Day School Week
Is it worth it?

Superintendent Monthly Update | By Jon Rother 
This article appears in the December 2022/January 2023 Monthly Newsletter

You may know of school districts in Nebraska who have shifted to a four day school week. At JCC, we’ve pondered the idea from time to time. We have even reached out to districts with the four day school week model to find out why they have it and if they found it beneficial. Some went to a four day week due to the sheer distance the students lived from school. This was from some of the more Western districts in Nebraska whose district covered an inordinate amount of square mileage. Other districts shifted to a four day week as a cost savings to the district. Closing the school for one day per week can cut down on operating costs. In our case, this would be estimated at a little over $4,000 per day. Whether or not it is enough to justify the shorter week would be debatable and would depend on the financial status of the district.

PROS

• Savings of an estimated $4,000+ (transportation/food service/support staff/substitute teachers).
• Less missed days by students & staff due to appointments.
• Attract new teachers when the need arises.
• Retain teachers.

CONS

• Daycare concerns for parents.
• Less time in the classroom & fitting curriculum into fewer days.
• Getting junior high students to practices/activities on off days.
• Concerns for younger students when not in school

As the school board and teachers’ bargaining team have started negotiations, a change in the school week and school year can impact the teachers’ contracts. Therefore, a four day week can only be accomplished with the support of staff and the community (more specifically the parents whose children attend school).

There are several numbers that must be considered when looking at changing the school day and the calendar.

1. Student hours in session (not including the 30 minutes allotted for lunch). A school district may go over these hours, but not under.
   1. 1,080 hours for grades 7-12.
   2. 1,032 hours for grades 1-6.
   3. 400 hours for Kindergarten.
2. Student Credit Hours/Instructional Units.
3. Teacher contract days. A school district may not go over or under the contracted days. The number of teacher contract days may only be changed through the negotiated agreement.
   1. 185 contracted days per JCC 2022-2023 Negotiated Agreement.

• In shortening the week, each day will have to be lengthened in order to meet the requirements for student hours. In doing so, we will also have to take into account the teacher contract. As teachers are part of a union, their contracts must be equitable to similar sized school districts. This is called an “array” of schools. Some of the factors that go into an array comparison are:  base pay, number of steps and columns on the pay scale, insurance deductibles, sick days, personal days, retirement and contracted days. The teachers’ final compensation must fall between 98% and 102% of the array. If it doesn’t, the Court of Industrial Relations steps in as the mediator in negotiations between the board and the bargaining committee.

Currently, teachers are required to report to duty no later than 8:00 AM and remain on duty until 4:00 PM; an 8 hour day. For the examples below, for mathematics sake, we will stick with the minimum amount of hours teachers are required on duty. Working with our current calendar, this means that teachers will work a minimum of 1,480 hours per their contract. The following depicts our current schedule.

Current Five Day Week Calendar 2022-2023
Student Days: 167
Teacher Days: 185

If we used this years school calendar and plugged it into next year's calendar, starting at roughly the same time, ending at roughly the same time, with the same teacher work days and the same holidays off, then took the remaining Mondays and made them NO SCHOOL days for everyone, we would end up with 154 student days and 174 teacher days. This would then leave para-educators at about 164 work days. Here are two samples of what it could look like by extending the day by under two different scenarios:
 
Sample Four Day Week Calendar
Student Days: 154
Teacher Days: 174

Hours different than our current schedule

The final details of the calendar would have to get worked out after negotiations (at the latest February). This would include length of the school day, student days in session and teacher contracted days.

What I am looking for at this time is feedback from you.

• Do you support a 4-day school week?
• How would a 4-day week benefit you?
• What concerns do you have with a 4-day week for you and your family?

I will be sending a survey to all our parents through email. If you do not have email, you may go to www.jccentral.org to find this article and the link to the survey, or you can type the following URL into your browser or scan the QR code using your phone or device:

https://forms.gle/Z2ZkHgnbSQ8Hxrnt9

UPDATE 12/2/22: 

If you would like to see some research on the four day school week, please follow the links provided. Also, you can reach out to people you know at Conestoga Public Schools, Weeping Water Public Schools and Rock Port Public Schools in Missouri. Weeping Water and Rock Port are both in their first year of a four day school week, whereas Conestoga has been implementing it since 2006.

There is not a lot of research to find as the four day week is relatively new in regards to the number of schools utilizing it.

Colorado Department of Education - Four Day School Week Overview
https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeedserv/fourdayschoolweek_overview#impact

4-Day School Weeks: New Research Examines the Benefits and Drawbacks
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/4-day-school-weeks-new-research-examines-the-benefits-and-drawbacks/2021/10

Does Four Equal Five?
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA373-1.html

PROOF POINTS: Seven new studies on the impact of a four-day school week
https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-seven-new-studies-on-the-impact-of-a-four-day-school-week/