Benefits Of A 5 Day School Week

In Peetz Colorado a debate is going on four a four day school week. I believe that if we go to a four day school week that it would help the kids physically, mentally, and financially. This would help not only our school but also the parents if they cant afford the gas. These will be some pros of a four day school week.

There is no reason why schools shouldn’t extend the school day. The obvious solution to these problems is just to extend the school day and turn it into the four day week. Changing this can help the students now and the soon to be students by giving them a better learning experience and end up doing better in life in general. The extended school day has been used in some schools across the U.S. and has proven to work just as or better than the normal day. The extended school day will not only affect the lives of the students helping them to succeed it will also better our society if the next generation of workers are well educated and

Money is saved on that day because they don't have to run lights, heater or AC. The school also doesn't have to pay anyone that is on an hourly schedule. One school ‘’said that they have saved a teacher in diesel fuel costs ‘’(chiaramonte 2 ). A local news reporter “ says thev’ve also saved substitute teacher costs because teachers don't have to take a day off for appointments (Chiaramonte 2 ). These are more reasons CHS should move to a four day school week.

Though some people say that four days in a school week will help students in certain classes especially in math, this test only worked on 4th and 5th graders. So it is illogical to think that a four day week will help other grade levels. My main concern is that most kids will not be able to focus by the end of the day because the school days will be longer,and so there would be no point in trying to teach at the end of the day. I say this because we would have to start

Four day school weeks have been discussed by many schools, and some schools already have them. Many say that the four day school week is good for students. It is also good for teachers and the whole school. There are improvements in the school financially. Financial problems is was most of a four day school week is about.

Imagine a school year that gave the students one week off after every quarter and every Friday off. Does this sound exciting and rich with possibilities? Then ask the superintendent of the school district to consider year round school with only four days per week.First, students would not forget what they learned over the long summer. Next, parents would not have to get day care except on Fridays instead of the whole summer. Finally, teachers and students would have better relationships as they spend more time together instead of being rushed. Let’s take a look at some proof.

Studies show that the amount of discipline referrals issued go down. The Chattooga county school district saw a 73% drop in discipline referrals(Vittana). This is because the students had an extra day off and don’t have to focus for five straight days on school. In addition to being more rested from the extra day off. Students that are more focused and rested learn better. So it increases the value of class time where a 5 day school week by Friday students can be unfocused and not rested. That leads to unhappy students who aren’t learning and probably gonna distract other students to keep them from learning. So

There are approximately 300 children enrolled in California Elementary School under the age of eight. These 300 would have to find some alternative to school on Fridays if the Moniteau County R-1 School District’s schedule changed from a five day week to a four day week. Additionally student involvement and safety would suffer. Changing the Moniteau County R-1 School district’s schedule to a four-day week would be detrimental to students’ safety and involvement in activities.

The overall logistics run much smoother in schools that have four day weeks compared to the five day week. “Some districts had experienced a decline in dropout rates, decreased disciplinary referrals, improved attendance, fewer class interruptions, more positive attitudes about school, and better staff development” (Yarbrough and Gilman 81). Another logistical benefit to having four day school week is that students have more time to get involved in extracurricular activities due to more availability

However, when it comes right down to it, it is all about the test scores. Whether it is standardized tests or just regular tests in school, four day school weeks are just better when it comes to both. ACT is a major standardized test that can directly show how ready a student is for a post-secondary education. Students that took the ACT one year with a five day school week had an average score of 18.7 on the ACT. The next year, the same school switched to a four day school week the following year and saw the average score rise to 20 (Chmelynski). From 10 random school districts those that had a four day school week versus a five day school week had better average standardized test scores (Yarbrough and Gilman). It isn’t just the standardized test that see improvements. Regular in-class test scores have also improved as a result of the four-day school week. In-fact studies show that test scores in all major subject areas have improved drastically (Yarbrough and

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

Our school, Peetz High, is thinking about changing to have a four day school week. People are either strongly proposing this or strongly opposing this. Many are complaining that Peetz is the only school in our district with a five day week. Some say that it will mess with their schedule.

Most kids would go for a four day week. A four day week may be cheaper, but most things are rushed on a four day week. There are many disadvantages to a four day week compared to a five day week.

This paper includes a reference list of literature relating to the pros and cons of changing a five day school week to a four day school week. In general, the literature seems to indicate that most of the reasoning behind this change is to lower energy and fuel costs as well as cut budgets to an affordable rate. Academic progress is evaluated in some cases and discussion of what decisions have been made in the use of the fifth unscheduled day have been researched. Some suggest to use the “off” day for professional development as well as an opportunity to offer additional student extracurricular activities. The difficulty of finding childcare for the unscheduled school day seemed to be an issue that was more prevalent in suburban school districts rather than rural districts. Each individual school district had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the shortened week and decide what worked best for their students, teachers, community.

Attendance will increase for not only students but teachers as well. With the motivation of having a three day weekend, students and teachers will feel encouraged to come to school. As the attendance increases, students will be able to understand the material taught more, teachers attending more school will help reduce the price for substitute teachers. Teachers will also have the opportunity to finish a lesson, instead of continuing it on to the next day.This helps increase the quality of class discussions. Although the schools districts will not be saving money on utility or wages, they will be able to save money on transportation and in the cafeteria. Busses and other public transportation methods will no longer be needed on the fifth day, which ends up saving money on gas. The cafeteria will be able to save money on the account that they will have one less day to order food for. They also will not t have to use the ovens or lights in the cafeteria, decreasing the utility by an almost unnoticeable amount. Although the increase of attendance for students is excellent for the four day week program, the increase of attendance for teachers may not benefit everyone. As teachers come to school more, the amount of substitute teachers plummets. The four day school weeks will also cut the hours of bus drivers and cafeteria workers. Although these changes may not be drastic, it will still affect the lives of the