Indiana Education Policy Center: Education Policy Briefs
- This study looks at the reasons some school districts around the national have gone to a four-day school week, outlines potential benefits, drawbacks and financial impact and provides conclusions and recommendations.
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National School Board Association Four Day School Week Survey Summary
- According to the National School Boards Association (NSBA), a handful of states, with mostly rural school districts, are experimenting with altering their school calendar. For small, remote school districts, instituting a four-day school week may provide considerable savings by reducing transportation, heating and other overhead costs. The attached document shows the results of the NSBA recent survey.
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Research Brief - A review of the Evidence on the Four-Day School Week, Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation, University of Southern Maine.
- A review of the literature on the impact of the four-day school week in the four areas of financial, achievement, other student and teacher outcomes, and stakeholder satisfaction reveals generally positive trends. Districts may not save as much as they hoped, but there are reported savings in transportation, food costs, and substitute teachers. The degree of additional cost reductions are dependent on the use of facilities during the off day and salaries for staff tied to the school calendar. The broadest conclusion that may be drawn from the limited research on the impact of the four-day week on student achievement is that it has no negative impact. There is some evidence that student and teacher absenteeism is lessened under a four-day week calendar, and there is greater opportunity for concentrated professional development. While it is sometimes difficult to persuade stakeholders to move to a four-day school week, surveys have found that students, teachers and parents are generally enthusiastic about the practice. It should be noted, however, that few of the studies cited above have been held to professional scrutiny, and the results are often reported by states and districts implementing the practice.
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Focus on the School Calendar: The Four-Day School Week, Southern Regional Education Board
- When the economy weakens, heightened consideration is given to ways in which schools and districts can more efficiently use financial resources or make up for lost funding. Discussions about implementing four-day school weeks — with students attending school more hours each day — are surfacing again because of general economic pressures in the states and the increased cost of diesel fuel for school buses. While the need to balance the budget is real — and many districts across the region are facing static or even reduced funding in the coming year — the current focus on improving student achievement should continue to be central to state-level decisions impacting schools.
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Look at four-day school week, Dr. Joe Reed, Alabama Education Association, Association Executive Secretary
- Dr. Reed re-examines the issue of the four-day school week as a possible way to contain fuel costs for Alabama schools.
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