Around 900 school districts in the United States are switching to a four day week schedule. This usually means Mondays or Fridays are off, and every week has a 3-day weekend. This idea first came about after the Great Recession, when schools lost funding and a large amount of teachers. Since offering a four-day week, some schools have reported seeing nearly triple the number of applicants than before, better financial management, and students and teachers seem to enjoy it. Sounds fantastic, right? However, the education and well-being of our population must be considered. Having a three-day weekend every week is nice, but it is not worth creating a population of uneducated people. I think there are benefits to a four-day week, but they are very subjective. On a large scale, I do not think it is a good idea for every school district to make this change. 

Small, rural schools in states like Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri are most common to switch to the four-day schedule. In fact, roughly 25% of school districts in Missouri have switched to a four-day week. These schools have not necessarily reported a decline in academic performance, but they also did not see any increase. Schools sticking with a traditional five-day week reported improvements in test scores and other academics. So, over time, the schools with four-day weeks did fall behind. Reading scores have suffered the most in these schools. Since school days become longer, young grades have noted that kids struggle to make it through the day. They are exhausted by the time you add an extra hour onto the seven already in place. This is counterproductive. Sure, they might be at school documenting education time, but their brains are not learning anything because they are so tired. 

Schools that have a four-day week say that the general consensus from parents and students is that they love having the extra day off. This might be the case for some, but there are also parents who cannot afford to put their children in childcare while they work. Now, they have another stressor on their mind of who will take care of their kids. Parents of kids attending a four-day week school have also taken note that it is more difficult to get kids back in the school routine after a three-day weekend. Another fault pointed out by parents is for those that ride the bus, every school day has turned into an 8-10 hour event. Then, there is extracurriculars and homework on top of that. Additionally, there are the kids who consider school their only safe place, and now have to spend another day away. It seems that even though the four-day week is aiming to lessen stress, it is actually adding to the problem. 

The basis for most schools switching to a four-day week is it helps save the district money and brings in more teachers long term. However, Aaron Pallas, a professor of sociology and education at Columbia University, said, “We haven’t seen much evidence yet that this approach saves districts much money, or that it helps districts recruit and retain teachers.” Pallas suggests better funding for school districts instead of disrupting a community’s whole schedule. Now, this is obviously easier said than done, but just because it is difficult doesn’t mean schools should take the easy way out and jeopardize the education of our country. Building a strong society must start early, specifically by keeping kids in a structured school environment five days a week.