Friday mornings—a day every high schooler battles with the annoying buzzing of alarm clocks, forcing their tired eyes open, hoping the weekend would just come sooner. But, picture this: it’s Friday morning, and instead of dragging yourself out of bed with the grim realization that you have to rush to school, you snooze the alarm and return to your cozy blankets, knowing that you have an extra day to relax before returning to school. Yes, this is happening in real life — schools across America are replacing the traditional 5-day school week by shortening it to just 4 days, usually Monday-Thursday. Previously, the expression “Thank God It’s Friday” alluded to people’s excitement for the weekend; now, it has a whole new meaning for students in some schools who have switched to a four-day school week schedule. But, are four-day school weeks the secret recipe for happier students and rejuvenated teachers, or is this model unrealistic?
The idea of a four-day school week has gained popularity over the past few years, especially in rural and poorer schools where they face significant budget constraints and staff shortages. According to LINQ25, 25 of the 50 American states have at least one district following the shortened schedule. Reducing the school week to just four days would allow districts to spend less on transportation costs such as bus maintenance, fuel, driver salaries, school breakfast and lunch programs, utility costs, and staffing. However, most schools, lengthened the four school days to deliver the same amount of education to students over fewer days and suggested the fifth day be used for tutoring, teacher development, or optional enrichment activities.
Ultimately, it’s hard to determine if these changes will result in improved academic performance for all students. Teachers in a Colorado elementary school were interviewed by The Guardian and expressed anticipation that the four-day school week would “hurt [the students’] academic performance because their attention spans are shorter and give them more of an opportunity to forget what they had learned.” However, the teachers were shocked when they observed great improvements in academic results, increasing standardized math test scores by approximately 7%. They hypothesize that these improvements were due to the extra available study time or the longer school days that allowed teachers to assign a variety of activities to help retention. As expected, not all schools have benefited from this model. Research conducted by Paul Thompson, associate professor of economics at Oregon State University, proved that “students on a four-day schedule, especially those with the least hours in school, have lower English language arts and math scores than students on a five-day schedule.” Ultimately, while there are some potential benefits, there are also clear drawbacks to this new model.
For many households, moving to a four-day school week would force parents working 9-5 jobs to make arrangements for childcare on the fifth day. According to LINQ25, some families experiencing food insecurity who “rely on public schools for nearly half of their meals” would be troubled by the elimination of meals offered on the fifth day. Finally, lengthening the four days that kids have to attend school makes it difficult for younger kids, or even older kids with ADHD, to focus for nine hours.
Ultimately, this change to four-day school weeks might be effective and feasible if schools address their specific students’ and families’ needs. Schools that decide to maintain the traditional school week should value the time spent in school and try to reduce the amount of homework and assignments that need to be completed outside of school. On the other hand, in schools that decide to make the change, instructional time should diversify educational activities to lessen the strain of having to sit in a classroom for nine hours. With all things considered, should Tenafly High School mandate a change in school days as well?
