Lingering stress, inadequate pay and politics: These are some of the most current and influential factors impacting the teacher workforce. And when barriers arise, it’s up to district leaders to get creative with their decision-making. One way they’re doing that is by simply shortening the work week.
In August, the Texas State Teachers Association reported a record 70% of teachers “on the verge of quitting,” which indicated that the vast majority of teachers in the state lost support in their elected state leaders as well as their community members whose support they rely on.
Since then, more districts across the state have discussed implementing a four-day school week to bring in and retain more staff.
“We have to compete with some of the larger districts that are our neighbors,” Terrell ISD Superintendent Georgeanne Warnock told The Dallas Morning News.
Across the state, there are at least 43 districts already operating under this model, KWTX reports. Similar to Terrell ISD, Mineral Wells ISD Superintendent John Kuhn said their neighboring districts that were using four-day workweeks were absorbing their staff.
“Literally there were three small school districts within a 15-20 mile radius of us that made the decision to go to a four-day week,” he told KWTX. “We actually were losing teachers to those districts. We lost one veteran educator that caught my attention and then we lost some others as well. At that point, the school board and I said, ‘Let’s look into it.'”
Since implementing the change, he said it has been well received by the community and families are growing stronger.
The news outlet also released a poll to gather some insight from parents and teachers throughout the state surrounding four-day school weeks, and the results were overwhelmingly positive.
For example, parents were asked, “Are you concerned about the quality of your child’s education if your school switches to a four-day school week?” According to the 1049 respondents, nearly two-thirds (65%) said no.
Teachers were asked, “Would you consider relocating to a school district with a four-day school week?” Among the 550 votes that were cast, a staggering 79% said yes.
Missouri lawmakers have also recognized the growing need to recruit and retain school staff. However, the state’s largest school district has yet to adopt the strategy, despite one-fourth (141) of school districts already operating under the model, The Chart reports. Such creative strategies can prove extremely beneficial for states like Missouri which has one of the lowest starting teacher salaries in the country at $31,842, according to data from Niche. However, like many creative retention strategies, their effectiveness is unique to the district.
“In Lincoln County R-III, we have discussed this, but only in the sense that our Board of Education agrees that this is not in the best interest of our students,” says Superintendent Mark Penny. “In the last couple of years, we have seen many of the smaller rural schools around us move to this model.”
“We firmly believe that our students benefit from being in our classrooms, lunchrooms, gymnasiums, performance field, etc. five days a week,” he adds. “However, we also know that if more and larger school districts, especially those closest to us, move to four-day weeks, retaining and attracting qualified personnel will become increasingly difficult.”
In Nebraska, at least six school districts have now offered to adopt a four-day workweek. Though it’s a slow-moving effort in the state, its teachers, who continue to show signs of burnout since the pandemic, are thrilled.
What the research says
While implementing a four-day school week can help reignite the spark in your students and staff, the research in this area shows mixed results.
According to a recent survey from learning company D2L and District Administration of more than 1,000 school district superintendents and administrators across the U.S., just over half of administrators said a four-day school week—in addition to flipped classrooms—would help to bolster morale. However, only 10% had either adopted the model or were considering the switch.
A 2021 RAND Corporation report also explored the pros and cons of a four-day model. They found positive outcomes with giving students longer weekends, such as more time for sports, clubs, part-time jobs, and other activities. And as for teachers, most of them used that extra time for school work and personal responsibilities, such as doctor’s appointments and chores.
However, one 2022 study found that such a change leads to lower math and reading scores if the overall amount of time students spent in class was too low.
“The evidence suggests that the four-day school week is not detrimental for achievement per se, but that four-day school weeks implemented in districts with low overall time in school are likely to have meaningful negative consequences for student academic progress,” the study reads.
The bottom line is if your district is considering making the switch, ensure that students maintain an adequate amount of time in the classroom or student achievement will likely drop.
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