A few weeks ago, SweetwaterNOW ran a three-part series on the implementation of the 4-day school week in Sweetwater County School District No. 1. While that series highlighted a few opinions from select individuals, we wanted to get a better look at your opinions and feelings on the 4-day school week. SweetwaterNOW asked you to #TELLUS if you are in favor of the 4-day school week, or if you preferred the 5-day school week.
Of the 328 people polled, 52.7 percent, 173 people, said they were not in favor of the 4-day school week. This means 47.3 percent, 155 people, are in favor of the switch to the 4-day school week.
The poll shows that 144 of the people surveyed were parents and guardians, 86 were community members, 71 were teachers, and 24 were students. Three responders did not specify which group they belonged to.
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Students were split 12-12 on whether they preferred the 4-day or 5-day school week. The majority of people in the groups consisting of teachers and parents and guardians said they liked the 4-day week more. Of the parents and guardians, 78 people said they liked the 4-day school week more and 66 said they preferred the 5-day school week. Thirty-nine teachers said they preferred the 4-day school week, while 32 said they liked the 5-day week more.
The group consisting of community members had the highest discrepancy between those in favor of the 5-day week versus the 4-day week, with 58 people preferring the 5-day week. Twenty-eight people in this group said they prefer the 4-day school week.
Reasons Against 4-Day School Week
Responders could choose from five options when stating why they are against the 4-day school week. Answers included: longer school days, getting home later after activities, less time with family during the week due to longer school days, less time to work after school, or other. The graphic below shows how people answered this question, which was multiple choice.
Over 54 percent of people, 86 responders, said the longer school days was the reason why they do not support the 4-day school week. Eighty-six people also noted that they had other reasons for disliking the 4-day school week. One of the main reasons parents and guardians were against the 4-day school week was because of childcare for kids on Fridays. Some responders said:
Spouse and I work full time. Our jobs didn’t adjust to their schedule so childcare is now an additional expense.
Hard to find daycare on Fridays.
Less in-class time for students, also hard on low income families finding childcare.
Like the responder above said, many people wrote that they believe students aren’t getting enough time in the classroom to retain information. A few people emphasized this point by noting that SCSD No. 1 has block scheduling, which means students are getting even less time in classes. People also said the longer days make it more difficult for students to learn.
Learning retention has suffered with a 3-day weekend and the A & B day schedule. Also the class periods are too long for effective learning to take place.
The four-day week, combined with the block schedule, means that secondary students who miss ‘a day’ have actually missed half the week. Since activities are NOT restricted to Fridays, this means a substantial portion of our student body only attends one period per week for at least some classes.
Other responders said teachers do not have enough time to present all the material in classes. Others noted that teachers do not get extra planning time on Fridays, but instead have to do in-service trainings.
I feel the 4 days would be wonderful if some changes were made. I know other districts where it works well. These districts do have longer days! Planned Friday school for students in need. Teachers are actually given more planning time and not required to attend as many district meetings on Fridays.
Teachers do not get the whole day Friday to work, instead, we receive useless ‘professional development’ and get maybe two hours to ourselves.
Some responders said that school is not being treated as a priority with the 4-day schedule, and it is not setting kids up for the work force that operates as a five day work week. Others said test scores are down in the district and the loss of the school day is not helping address that.
Sweetwater #1 is at its worst. The graduation rate and test scores are terrible. The 4-day week is unacceptable!
“I see no real benefit to my children staying home on Friday. I worry about the more vulnerable segments of our population, single parent homes, lower income families who can’t afford to provide consistent child care or a healthy environment for their children to be unsupervised. The benefits to a four day school week are paper thin when held up to direct scrutiny and compared to a five day school week. Puff pieces in the paper are nice. Interviewing the superintendents direct reports isn’t going to give you an honest appraisal of how the four day week is working for our community. I know at least five or six teachers who would tell you the same if given a chance to speak on the subject with anonymity. Dissenting opinions aren’t hard to find, you just need to be interested in representing another side of the story. Also our graduation rates and WYTOPP scores are dismal. Let’s fix that and then crow about how well our district is performing,” one responder said.
Reasons for Supporting 4-Day School Week
People who are in favor of the 4-day school week were also given five multiple choice options to choose from. Those answers included: more time with family, no missed school for Friday sports and activities, the 3-day weekend, more time for a job or homework, or other.
Most people said that more time with family, no missed school on Fridays, and the 3-day weekend are the main reasons for favoring the 4-day school week. Twenty-eight responders also said they had other reasons for liking the 4-day week.
One responder said they save time and money by having one less day for transporting their kids and buying groceries for lunches, and their kids miss less school for appointments that can be scheduled on Fridays.
It saved me gas money transporting my kids to and from school. It also saves me on lunch groceries. I also really feel like I have more time with my kids and they are better rested. We are also able to miss less school because we schedule appointments on Fridays. Just for added information, I have a high school child, a junior high child, a child in 5th grade and two lower elementary children. I still think among all grades the 4 day week is better for my family.
A few teachers said teacher morale has gone up with the 4-day school week, and that burn out has lessened.
I feel less stressed in the four day week. I feel like my students learn better when I feel better.
My students seem much more engaged.
Teacher moral has gone up! There will always be some that are not happy no matter what!!!
I feel a lot more rested on a four day work week. Some teachers complain, but they just need to figure out ways to teach their material in four days instead of five. The five day week, before we went to a four day, was literally a wash…no one was able to get anything done.
Helps so that there is not such a great ‘burn-out’ rate. I feel that even with some Fridays off, teachers still put in at least 50 hours per week.
Some students said they feel less stressed with the 4-day week. Others said it allows more time for them to get their homework done. Additionally, a parent said that the three-day weekend allows her kid to make money because they have an extra day to work.
More time to complete projects and to study.
Nice to have extra time to really understand homework and complete it. It is too hard to have seven different subjects everyday and have homework in all of them every night!
The block schedule on a four day week is good for me. I have a day in between classes to complete my homework. It gives me more time to study too.
My daughter is able to make money by babysitting a teachers kids on Fridays when teachers work.
A community member said: “I live by Rock Springs High School and my neighborhood gets three days of peace and quiet. No speeding down my street and no garbage.”
Many responders believed that the 4-day week is good for both students and teachers, allowing them to decompress. Some said students are able to take in the material they are learning better, and less stress for teachers means better teacher retention rates. With the 4-day week, some believe it helps better the mental health of students and teachers.
Opinions Remain Mostly Unchanged
According to the poll results, 14 percent of people said their opinion on the 4-day school week has changed since it was announced throughout its implementation, while 86 percent of people’s opinion has remained unchanged from when it was announced to present-day.
Whereas one parent quoted above said that they are able to schedule their kids’ appointments on Fridays, another responder who works in healthcare said that the 4-day school week has made it difficult to schedule kids for appointments. This caused their opinion to change on the 4-day school week.
I work in healthcare and so does my husband. The long days make it hard to see students after school and working Fridays to see them is also hard because I can’t find daycare for my own children. Scheduling is a nightmare with the long school days.
One parent said: “As a parent I like the 4-day week. As a parent of high school students, the benefit of the 4-day week does not out weigh the dread of the long school day. I think there are better options for the high school.”
However, another parent said that they weren’t in favor of the 4-day week at first because of the longer days, but changed their mind after it’s implementation: “To be honest it was the longer days at school but in the end it works better for my kids that struggle just getting to school.”
One teacher said:
The four day week paired with a block schedule means we see our students only twice per week, and if they are absent it’s less than that. If you only practiced a skill two times a week, would you get better? The long school days are hard on students and staff. They struggle to get through the day and if they have activities, these kids are working 10-12 hour days. It’s too much for our kids.
Another teacher, however, said the 4-day week gives them more time to plan, so they like it more than they thought they would.
Another responder who previously was in favor of the change said:
The school days are too long and the district refuses to acknowledge it- students are mentally checked out by 3:30 p.m. The district doesn’t put the in-service Fridays to good use. Far too many of the Friday work days for teachers, too. It is not a true ‘4-day week.’ Sports and other activities are still happening during the school week instead of Friday, as was promised by the district, too.
One student who was previously in favor of the 4-day week said they changed their mind due to watching teachers and fellow students get too tired due to the longer days.
I am a senior this year, and it has been depressing watching teacher after teacher quit watching these kids get burnt out. These classes are long and it’s not easy on the students or teachers.
There are strong opinions on both sides of this change from the 5-day to 4-day school week. On one hand, people appreciate the longer weekend that they believe leads to less burn out. However, others believe that the longer days contribute further to burn out. Whether you’re in support of the change or not, we appreciate you taking this poll and sharing your opinions with us.
