When the school bell rings in Independence, Missouri, this year, 14,000 students are trying something new: a four-day week, with Mondays off. And they’re not alone. As kids head back to school this year, a growing number will be returning to a four-day school week.
Hundreds of districts across the country have moved to adopt the alternative weekly schedule in recent years. CBS News correspondent Bradley Blackburn looked at why some larger school districts are now taking this step — and what it means for teachers, students and families.
It’ll be painful for lower income families unless their communities organize childcare co-ops.
One side benefit may be in making more conversation about a 4-day work week.
Aagrred with this.
It still surprises me that:
- people think students need to be in school so long every year for actual educational reasons
- people get offended when you point out that it largely functions as a ‘daycare’ for younger kids
- we’ve had both parent working be the norm for decades now… and somehow we still don’t have a school system that addresses that
I honestly think that the main reason for the male/female become gap is the above. Discrimination exists, but I think it is more an issue of women being more likely to compromise their work life to take care of kids… and therefore being less useful to work… so being paid less for it.
If we ACTUALLY fix that somehow, we’d be much more inclusive and free society.
I just felt like replying.
- Children probably need to be in school basically year round, but for less time. They need reinforcement, but can’t focus for long. The whole day could probably work if the 2nd half of the day was unstructured. This is basically how I’ve seen (successful) college students work. They tend to have a 3-4 hour block of classes and then between that they work on stuff at their own pace including studying, getting help, etc. This is how my kid’s grade school works and honestly, I was shocked all the kids score the same as the public school, so apparently no loss. It is a year round school and the kids are in school more days of the year, so I don’t know if it’s technically more or less effective.
- Accurate. Anyone who says differently is lying to themselves. Schools are also a monitoring service for abuse and a safe place for kids to escape hope abuse and maybe even report it.
- Before we had more grandparents involvement. I have a lot of memories of my grandparents doing things my parents now refuse to do and I have to do. Families with grandparent involvement are just less stressed.
As for the 4 day thing, I’m interested to see how it works out. In Texas it has resulted in poorer outcomes for children on the whole mostly due to the safe place service schools provide.
Knowing how things always tend to work out. The 4 day work week will be Monday through Thursday and not be helpful at all.
The people on the bottom, at the lowest income level will never have the 4 day work week in their lifetime. That’s a middle class dream.
I was worried about the additional per-day time, but the article says it’s only an additional 35 minutes. I think this would only work well if childcare was subsidized on the weekday off (under a certain income threshold if it must be that way). I worry about parents finding a way to make sure someone is keeping an eye on their kids otherwise.
Is it because it reduces their chance of dying in a school shooting by 20%?
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks…
It’s because Missouri isn’t spending enough on schools.
It’s a selling point in an era when schools are facing a national teacher shortage.
“The best way is to pay them better,” Pallas said, adding that Missouri “ranks basically last” or “next to last in terms of teacher salaries.”
In an effort to attract teachers in rural areas, Missouri saw district-wide shifts from five-day to four-day school weeks surge ahead of the 2022 academic year, with roughly 25% of schools moving to the new schedule, according to an online brief by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
And to cap it off, you get to spend more if you need to cover the child care that the school used to provide. On top of school taxes.
For parents who need childcare on Mondays, the district will offer it for $30 a day — a cost that could strain some families.
both the work week and school day should be 3 days with two shifts.
Anything that frees young people from that awful system for even a little bit longer…
