4-day or 5-day school week?
Photo by tigerlily713
By: Meg gorton
The state of Missouri opened the door to the 4DSW model in 2009 and the Lathrop district was the first to adopt the model in 2010. Since then, the schools utilizing this model were primarily small, rural districts. With the Independence School District adopting a 4-day school week for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, and the St. Joseph School District now considering this change, this conversation over a 4-day school week (4DSW) has been a rising point of discourse in the Missouri legislature.
Senator Doug Beck has backed legislation that would require 174 school days per academic year—an impossible task for a 4DSW district—effectively banning the 4DSW model at the state level. Initial attempts to insert this legislation into Amendment 4—the recently passed Parents Bill of Rights—were unsuccessful. Independence adopting the 4DSW marks a notable change and expansion in this model. Right now, 144 districts (27%) utilize the 4DSW model, a 136% rise since pre-pandemic numbers in the 2019-2020 school year. Thus, the effects of such a decision would prove far reaching, and primarily affect rural areas of Missouri.
Proponents of this legislation argue a 4DSW places extra burdens on families following a 5-day work week. Additionally, proponents believe the goal should be to keep students in schools as much as possible. As the normalization of a 4DSW would potentially neutralize its incentive, for Beck this begs the question of where we draw the line on how long the school week should be. Opponents worry that such a change, particularly in rural school districts, would come at a detriment to teacher recruitment/retention. Moreover, opponents worry about changes to broad control over such matters, shifting power from the local school board—as is Missouri’s traditional policy—to the state level.
PRiME Findings on the Impact of 4DSW on Teacher Recruitment
PRiME’s policy brief The Impact of Four Day School Weeks on Teacher Recruitment in Missouri found, when comparing rural districts with 5-day school weeks to those implementing the 4DSW model, statewide results suggested adopting a 4-day model does not have any significant effect on teacher recruitment. Teacher recruitment efforts statewide seemed to be more affected by efforts to increase teacher salary.
