About 70 people attended a meeting at Cook County High School Thursday, May 20, 2010 on the possibility of the district going to a four-day school week the fall of 2011. The change would save the district money but would also give teachers more staff development time, which has been shown to improve academic performance.
Seventy people gathered at Cook County High School Thursday, May 20, 2010 to discuss the possibility of ISD 166 going to a four-day school week the fall of 2011. Another 30 or so had already met with district officials up the Gunflint Trail, in Hovland, and in the West End between May 10 and 18.
Numerous rural districts throughout the country have been able to save on the cost of things like bus transportation, kitchen help, paraprofessional pay, and even bathroom supplies by going to a four-day week. Next fall, Two Harbors and Silver Bay schools will be among at least 10 Minnesota schools going to a four-day week. Extensive research by Superintendent Beth Schwarz and a four-day week committee is showing that a four-day week could improve academic achievement as well.
“Interest in the four-day school week began due to the potential cost savings,” Superintendent Schwarz said in a PowerPoint presentation. “Review of the research, coupled with committee discussions, has unveiled exciting academic opportunities!”
In the face of declining enrollment and funding reductions, the school district is in financial crisis and will be pursuing passage of a referendum this fall. An estimated $127,000 could be saved by going to a fourday week, but that will not solve the school’s problems. Superintendent Schwarz proposed using the savings on staff development and on strategizing ways to meet student academic needs more specifically.
A document handed out at the meeting said, “Research studies repeatedly report that one characteristic of the highest achieving schools worldwide is frequent, well-defined, quality staff development. We are lacking this at ISD 166.”
Teachers now are contracted to work 182 days a year. Students have 173 school days. With a four-day week, students would have 149 school days, leaving teachers with 33 days instead of nine days for staff development. Teachers are not required to be in the classroom outside of school hours on days when school is in session.
Schwarz said she has talked to superintendents of districts throughout Minnesota and the western United States that have gone to a four-day week. The more she looks at the statistics and talks to people, she said, the more in favor of it she is. Superintendents she spoke with told her that if this district goes to a fourday week, they better be sure about it because the community won’t want to go back to a five-day week.
A four-day school week would extend the school day by 15 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the afternoon, with middle and high school students in class from 8:00 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. and elementary students in class from 8:05 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. With this schedule, the kids with the longest bus rides would need to be picked up at 6:36 a.m.
With only four days of recess, lunchtime, and passing time between classes, elementary students would gain over six hours of instructional time over the course of a year, and secondary students would gain about 12 hours of instructional time (depending on how many class periods a day there would be). Students would have more of the school year under their belts before the Minnesota Academic Assessments (MCAs) that demonstrate how districts measure up to federal No Child Left Behind Act standards and that high school students must pass in order to graduate from high school.
Longer class periods would be better for hands-on classes like industrial technology, culinary arts, and lab sciences, Schwarz said. Teachers would need to revamp their curricula to fit longer days, but more group work and hands-on projects would benefit many students who learn better that way anyway. “Could this be a step toward a year-round school?” Schwarz asked. “Possibly.”
The benefits of a four-day week, Schwarz said, include lower student stress, improved morale, increased attendance, a lower dropout rate, and fewer discipline referrals.
Cook County athletes sometimes miss a lot of school on Fridays when they travel to other districts for games. If the school week were Monday through Thursday, those athletes would miss less school. Getting athletes to school on those Fridays could be a problem for some families, however.
Some parents have expressed concern about how they could find daycare for their children on Fridays, although Cook County may have fewer 9-5 employees than more metropolitan areas. Superintendent Schwarz said that some districts that have gone to a four-day week have offered a fifth day of programming to help working parents but have not needed to continue it because parents found the daycare they needed.
One parent asked about districts that have tried but discontinued a four-day week. Schwarz said she has not been able to get much information on those situations but would continue to look for it.
A document sent home to all ISD 166 parents states, “The four-day week committee believes implementation of this plan in ISD 166 would be beneficial to students, staff, and the community. Furthermore, if the cost savings realized on a four-day week schedule were reallocated to academic programming, the likelihood of increased student achievement warrants serious consideration of the four-day week schedule.”
Schwarz issued a statement to the local press that stated, “The district truly is listening and is considering all of the concerns brought up at the meetings. …If we go to a four-day week additional careful planning with attention to detail will be done over the course of the next school year. The education of students at ISD 166 is a top priority, second only to student safety.”
More information on the four-day week can be found on the school website at www.cookcountyschools. org.
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