Why High Schools Should Implement a 4 Day School Week Schedule

Students have long struggled in school, schooling is something that everyone has experienced to some degree, the feeling of dread that wakes you up in the middle of the night because you forgot to write an outline for your Civics class, or the quiet exhaustion of a student who doesn’t have enough time to rest at home sleeps in the middle of class. Have you ever thought about why students struggle with waking up for school? It's because of the fact that students and teachers are exhausted, and what they truly want is a solution. This solution could be a four day school week giving students as well as teachers the appropriate time to rest and relax. Students and teachers alike have long suffered from being overworked in school, this is clear by the fact that schools are struggling to find teachers to fill their staff. The lack of a 4 day school week prevents students from getting their proper education.

A way that a four day school week could help the American school system is that it could solve the teacher pandemic raging across the country. For those of you unfamiliar with the idea of a teacher pandemic, a “Teacher Pandemic” is in other words a teacher shortage. According to the article “Missouri District Ponders Four-Day School Weeks in a Growing Trend.” (by USA Today) “nearly half (45%) of public schools have at least one vacant teaching position,”. This is not good, one vacant teaching position means that one class is being handled by a substitute teacher, which means that one class in nearly half of public schools are not getting proper education. To quote the article “Missouri District Ponders Four-Day School Weeks in a Growing Trend.” (by USA Today). Once again, “4% of teaching positions remained vacant this fall, though the problem was pronounced in special education (7% of positions unfilled) and ELL programs (6%). This further shows the point of Students not getting proper education in schools. You may be wondering “Why bring up students getting denied their education?”. The answer to that question is simple, a 4 day school week could solve this issue. According to the article “Four-Day School Week Helping Retain Teachers?” (by Harper, Averi) "So, we went from about 1.5 applications per opening to 10 applications per opening.”. This influx is an obvious result of a 4 day school week being adopted, essentially if schools were to adopt a 4 day school week the teacher pandemic would be effectively solved. On that note another article speaks on how extracurricular activities could be stopped to save costs, the article is titled “Of 546 superintendents surveyed, nearly half said they plan to cut back on field trips, and 15% will eliminate extra curricular activities that require busing.”

Another way a four day school week could help schools would be that schools would be able to commit more money into important school subjects and supplies. According to the article “Should the School Week Be Shorter? Four-Day School Weeks Are Becoming More Popular. Here’s What You Need to Know.” (by Frank, Mary Kate). “Today, saving money remains a big reason that schools make the switch.”. This means that the schools that have switched to a 4 day school week have saved a substantial amount of money, enough so that the funds that would’ve been used for another school day, could be distributed throughout the school improving classes throughout the Public School System. On that note another article speaks on how extracurricular activities could be stopped to save costs, the article is titled “Four-Day School Week Helping Retain Teachers?”(by Harper, Averi). The text states the following “Of 546 superintendents surveyed, nearly half said they plan to cut back on field trips, and 15% will eliminate extra curricular activities that require busing.” Cutting down on field trips and extracurricular activities will do nothing but cut down on the quality of students' education, the reason they are cutting down on these activities is because of their budget, which is currently being wasted on a 5 day school week. A 4 day school week effectively saves money with the only major side effect being more money to invest in schools. Which leads me to my next and final point.

A four day school week could help students balance their school and social life as well as help both students and teachers mental and physical health. According to the article “Continued Support for Teacher; Growing Support for a Four-Day School Week”(by Phi Delta) “The 55th Annual PDK Poll finds that a wide majority (66%) of adults say teachers should have a substantial say in what’s taught in public schools, more than say so about school boards, local residents, or lawmakers.”. This furthers my earlier point of teachers desiring a four-day school week. Also according to the article “Should the School Week be Shorter?Four-Day School Weeks Are Becoming More Popular. Here's What You Need to Know”(by Frank, Mary Kate), “About 60 percent of middle schoolers and 70 percent of high schoolers don’t get enough rest each night.”. This is an issue that could be solved by a Four-Day school week as according to the article “Should the School Week be Shorter?Four-Day School Weeks Are Becoming More Popular. Here's What You Need to Know”(by Frank, Mary Kate), “A weekday off means less time on the road. For students, that leaves more time for extracurriculars, errands, chores, jobs, and sleep”. An extra day off has the benefit of giving students more time to rest, which helps students concentrate more easily in class, effectively making up for the time off.

In conclusion the lack of a four day school week is preventing students from receiving their proper education. This could solve the teacher pandemic, and provide proper education to the millions of students across America, struggling to maintain the proper grades required for graduation. However this solution cannot be implemented by inaction, this is not an issue solved by itself, this is an issue in which the people of America must work together to implement a 4 day school week, and save the American Public School System.

Works Cited

Photo by Donovan Reeves on Unsplash

“Continued Support for Teachers; Growing Support for a Four-Day School Week.” Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 105, no. 1, Sept. 2023, pp. 34–39. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217231197474.

Frank, Mary Kate. “Should the School Week Be Shorter? Four-Day School Weeks Are Becoming More Popular. Here’s What You Need to Know.” Scholastic Scope, vol. 71, no. 7, Apr. 2023, pp. 10–11. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=06e2335c-fee7-366c-b87e-ec2a7081a44a.

Harper, Averi. “Four-Day School Week Helping Retain Teachers?” Good Morning America (ABC), Mar. 2023, p. 1. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=dce4fa32-1dc9-3ac2-a27f-73032ab1a63c.

Kingsbury, Kathleen. “Four-Day School Weeks.” TIME Magazine, vol. 172, no. 8, Aug. 2008, pp. 49–50. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=63b70a29-9daf-3956-adbc-64382c2f5123.

“Missouri District Ponders Four-Day School Weeks in a Growing Trend.” USA Today, Dec. 2022. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=09c2660b-0593-3378-8bfb-c08b706fa268.