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.

One reason CHS should go to a four day school week is that students are more ordered and have more time to do homework. They get a whole extra day to do homework. Having their homework done on time results in better grades and being more organized. Going four days a week also helps kids learn better, it give the child's mind more time to rest. According to an educational website “ researchers found present of students scoring either proficient or with advanced proficiency in reading went up at schools on a four day schedule and were higher than their peers

Four day or five day school week is what almost everyone is debating. I stand on the five day school week side of this argument. This editorial is going to explain why I stand on the side of the five day school week, and the pros versus the cons of the five day school week.

Financial problems have arose in many schools. Many schools believe that “One day less means one day less of heating the school, fueling buses, feeding students and paying certain staff members” (Anderson). Little things like that can save schools a lot more money. More money means more equipment for learning and new schools objects. “An informational poll on edutopia.com indicates that 67% of over 2700 polled favor this as a solution to school districts financial hardship” (Hadfield). A lot of people want the four day week to be a “thing” so that financial problems can no longer be a problem. Teachers and schools would say “Their budgets has been stretched tighter than a drum and has finally reached a breaking point that cannot be ignored” (Occupy Theory). A sign that teacher and student are getting a bit tired of the stress being put on them because of financial problem. There are more benefits along with the resolution of financial problems and it is academics.

This eventually leads to better standardized testing scores district wide. Merryville High School in Louisiana, “has seen average ACT scores school wide rise from 18.7 to 20 in just four years of having the four day schedule. Honor roll students in middle and high school have also doubled” (Chmelynski). Also, according to the table on page 82 of Yarbrough’s article, test scores on the CTBS improved after moving to the four day school week in both the 3rd and 9th grade levels that were tested (see last page of paper). These improvements do not just happen over a long period of time, school districts have seen immediate improvement in scores. “Webster County School district ranked 115th in Kentucky’s state test scores. The year after moving to a four day week, they improved to 61st” (Weldon 32). Not only are schools seeing improvement in test scores, but they are also seeing overall improvement in all aspects of their district.

Can you imagine getting up on a Friday morning and not having to get up and go to school. This is becoming more than just a really good dream in some places across the country. This is happening as close as Hot Springs School District in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Many school officials around the country are switching to the system because they believe it is better financially and better for the kids. A four day school week will be better for the children and financially because it saves the school money, student and teacher morale are better, and better test scores.

Some students don’t like this idea because they don’t want to change to the four day week. Because they don’t want to change the number of days or hours that we have to come to school. But that's a good thing because students have a lot of time to do stuff and school and outside of school or with sports. The best part about this is the sort week and long weekend to do whatever. Yeah! We might have to come more hours but look we got a long weekend and a pretty sort week of school.

The disadvantages of a four day week is spending longer in school. Schools that do a four day week add up class time. Certain schools could start at seven to three! Many kids don’t have much time to work because you’d have to cram so much work in four days and some kids are very busy with too much homework or particular events.

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

The pros of four-day school are good for saving districts money. The one day off saving money on the service they pay to help the student such as transportation. The four day school week improve student and teacher attendance. On the extra day off they could schedule dentist appoint it and other appointments that need to be done, This means fewer substitute teachers. A teacher with the day off come back to school refresh and focus on the week. On the day of student and teacher can spend time with their families. They could go to a museum or go hiking and bond together.

There are multiple pros and cons of a four day school week. There are many different perspectives that a four day school week has and how it is view my students, parents and faculty. The five main key points that are continually looked at are finances, attendance, improved learning, time and supervision. These five points are also what helps a school districts decided what is best for their students and school. Have you ever wondered how your school and the students could have benefitted from a four day school week?

To begin, if schools went to a four-day week, students will not have time for any after school activities. According to a website called “Afterschoolallstar.com” if we have a four-day school week we will have longer school hours. That means students won’t have time for after-school activities; and without activities, students may take part in drugs, drinking, smoking and sexually activities. 67% percent of students that take part in activities are qualified for free or reduced paid lunch. So for all the students

Not only does the savings include transportation, but also a decrease in money spent on school lunch. Students are eating jail food one less day. There is a decrease in school lunch because if students are in school one less day out of the week, less food will have to be made. By going to school only 4 days we are also saving about 20 percent on food (Hawkins, 2016). Another savings is that of utilities such as electricity, which would be saved because on that fifth day the school would be shut down. The Chattooga County School District in Georgia reported annual savings of nearly 800,000 after switching to the four day week plan(Sheehy,2012). A question that goes along with this reason could be where do the school systems put the money towards now? Now schools could use the money to buy additional class textbooks, materials, also improving school wide activities through the money.

Students are preforming better showing up to class more frequently, and is much more cost effective. The way the American public perceives schooling is changing. It is changing for the better with four day school.

Should we only have school four days a week? In my opinion, I think we should. There are pros and cons, but I think it’s a great idea. Even though going to school five times a week is beneficial, only having school four times a week is better because we'll get a longer weekend, classes or longer, and we could even have a study hall or Period.