2010-06-25

School districts looking for ways to cut costs have embraced a four-day school week, with some surprising results. Peach County Schools, a rural Georgia district of 4,000 students which implemented the cost-saving measure last year as an alternative to laying off dozens of teachers, saw its test scores and student attendance increase. Furthermore, the graduation rate is likely to be the highest in years, at 80%. Webster County School District in Kentucky also has seen similar results.
 

 

Opponents of the shortened week schedule cite problems with longer class days and finding daycare for children whose parents work outside the home. There also is little research on whether a shortened school week helps improve students academically. Some districts, such as Marlow Public Schools in Oklahoma, are reverting to the regular five-day week because teachers have found it difficult to teach their students at a quicker pace to make up for the lost day. Still, nearly one in seven school boards across the country is considering whether to drop a day, according to a recent survey by the American Association of School Administrator

 

Sources: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1832864,00.html              http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100604/ap_on_re_us/us_four_day_school_week