im just wondering do u come on Ms.Vaughn?
Elli
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
MS.VAUGHN!!!!!
MS.VAUGHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU HAVE NOT BEEN POSTING ANYTHING FOR A LONG TIME AND I AM VERY IRRATATED. IT IS NOT FAIR THAT YOU MAKE US POST AND YOU SIT AND DO NOTHING!!!!!!!!! IN FACT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I POST THIS! YOU WON'T EVEN SEE IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T POST TO THE BLOG AND EVEN IF YOU DO SEE THIS YOU WON'T POST ANYTHING BACK TO ME BECAUSE YOU JUST..........WELL.................................
YOU JUST DON'T POST!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Alli Long
YOU HAVE NOT BEEN POSTING ANYTHING FOR A LONG TIME AND I AM VERY IRRATATED. IT IS NOT FAIR THAT YOU MAKE US POST AND YOU SIT AND DO NOTHING!!!!!!!!! IN FACT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I POST THIS! YOU WON'T EVEN SEE IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T POST TO THE BLOG AND EVEN IF YOU DO SEE THIS YOU WON'T POST ANYTHING BACK TO ME BECAUSE YOU JUST..........WELL.................................
YOU JUST DON'T POST!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Alli Long
I need some information about how having a 4-day school week affects children's education.
Hi Guys,
I am having trouble finding information about how a 4-day school week could affect children's education. I've looked all over and just can't seem to find any. It seems like everyone is strugguling with finding any info on that. It's wierd. I did read a recent article that says that there hasn't been much research done on a 4-day school week affecting children's education.
See ya,
Alli Long
I am having trouble finding information about how a 4-day school week could affect children's education. I've looked all over and just can't seem to find any. It seems like everyone is strugguling with finding any info on that. It's wierd. I did read a recent article that says that there hasn't been much research done on a 4-day school week affecting children's education.
See ya,
Alli Long
articles/ converting into papers
Hi Guys,
Just wanted to let you know how much of a whimp I am about keeping my articles converted into papers. So far I have about 20 articles ( this is not exaggeration peoples! ) and only I paper.
So yah.
Don't really know why I wanted to tell everyone that,
Alli
Just wanted to let you know how much of a whimp I am about keeping my articles converted into papers. So far I have about 20 articles ( this is not exaggeration peoples! ) and only I paper.
So yah.
Don't really know why I wanted to tell everyone that,
Alli
Okay so I've got some many things about childcare.
Hey,
I've got a ton of great stuff about child care. If I will share it is another one. I'm just joking!!!!!
Hope this helps.
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Four-Day School Week
What's It All About?
The motivating force behind a school changing to a four-day week is quite different than that which causes a school to adopt a block schedule. Faced with dwindling financial resources and declining enrollments, many small school districts have adopted a four-day school schedule (Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Koki, 1992; School Fits, 1983; Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983; Blankenship, 1984). By extending the time spent in school for four days, (by approximately 25 percent or 75 minutes per day) they are able to close the school on the fifth. Instead of cutting art, music, or other activities that often fall prey to budgetary shortfalls, the four-day week gives schools the opportunity to preserve these classes and still save money. Generally schools that use a four-day week are small, rural schools. In the Northwest, Oregon is the only state with schools using a four-day schedule. More than a dozen districts there currently observe a four-day week. Other states, including Washington, Idaho, and Montana do not have legislation that permits four-day week schedules.
Most often, schools that switch to a four-day week take either Friday or Monday off. Those choosing to close on Friday say that it is best because such a large portion of the student population misses school due to athletic events and other activities on this day. Those choosing to close school on Monday do so because gymnasiums often have to be lit and heated for Friday athletic events and activities, whereas few such activities occur on Mondays (Blankenship, 1984). Regardless of which day schools close, the decision to switch to a four-day week should be "based on clearly defined purposes and a recognition of both costs and benefits" (Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of a Four-Day Week?
Though financially motivated, most schools that adopt a four-day week have serendipitously discovered numerous benefits they didn't quite expect. Following is a list of the advantages of the four-day week that many schools have encountered for students, teachers, and the school in general.
Students and Teachers:
Student drop-out rates decline (Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
Student disciplinary referrals decrease (Koki, 1992).
Student achievement is generally not affected either positively or negatively (Nelson, 1983; Daly & Richburg, 1984).
Student and teacher attendance improves (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Students and teachers benefit from less interrupted class time as a result of longer class periods and fewer transitions at all grade levels. This increases the efficiency of instruction (Blankenship, 1984; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
Students and teachers share more positive attitudes about school. Consequently, there is a marked improvement in school morale (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
School faculty has more time for quality staff development (often the day off is used for this purpose) (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
There is more time for participation in extracurricular activities and for personal business, such as doctor appointments (Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
The School in General:
Has significant savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses, and building wear and tear (Blankenship, 1984; Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Can make up school days missed due to inclement weather on what would have been the fifth school day instead of at the end of the school year (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
Experiences fewer distractions; learning is less broken up by athletic events or other school activities (Blankenship, 1984; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
What Are the Concerns?
Weighing both the advantages and the possible disadvantages of any new scheduling format is critical to making an informed decision. Some of the concerns associated with the four-day week that are important to note include:
Child care issues: While some parents like the four-day week because they prefer having to find good child care one day a week, others dislike it for the very same reason and prefer to arrange for child care in smaller increments of time. Some schools have alleviated this concern by using high school students as baby-sitters for those in need (Blankenship, 1984).
Primary-aged students: There is often concern as to how young students will respond to such a long school day. As a result, many schools structure the day so the afternoon is composed of less academic work than the morning, thus allowing students to have some "down time" (Blankenship, 1984).
At-risk students: Some teachers feel that at-risk and special-needs students may have retention difficulties with an extra day off each week (Blankenship, 1984; Culbertson, 1982).
School reform movement: Some educators are concerned that the four-day week may appear to be inconsistent with the new emphasis for more time in school (Blankenship, 1984).
The four-day week will take more of a local community commitment than other schedule options as it can affect daily community routines as well as the childrens'.
Implementation Ideas
When contemplating the decision to move to a four-day week, keep in mind that it is a multistep process. Some suggested steps for implementation are:
Become as familiar with the concepts and implications of a four-day week as possible. Read research and case studies. Talk to other administrators and teachers using this schedule.
Survey the staff; they must be involved in the decision making process. If they aren't in favor of a four-day schedule, it will be difficult to proceed (Litke, 1994).
Get the endorsement of the students, parents, and community in addition to approval from teachers and administration, since this change will affect all of them as well (Litke, 1994).
Design the schedule to accommodate the needs of teachers and students. Make sure all changes stay within accreditation guidelines and teachers' contract requirements.
Some restructuring and repacing of the curriculum will be necessary. Involve school staff; this will give them ownership of the process and also help them to feel more ready for the change. Provide ample time for staff development (Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Featherstone, 1991).
Once the schedule is in place, monitor its effects frequently. Keep communication open between administrators, teachers, students, and parents.
Allow a sufficient trial period before making any final recommendations on the schedule (Blankenship, 1984).
If possible, use the day off as an opportunity to provide students in need with enrichment activities or additional instruction (Koki, 1992).
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Year-Round Education
What's It All About?
Communities are often motivated to select year-round calendars due to booming student enrollment and a lack of funding to construct new school buildings. Even though year-round education may seem like an educational innovation, it has actually been around for quite some time. At the beginning of this century, population centers such as New York and Baltimore were sites of year-round education programs. A shift in societal needs, coupled with a largely agrarian society, altered the school calendar and made it what it is today (White, 1995; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993). Because we are no longer bound to agrarian calendars, many educators now feel that rearranging or even extending the school year can increase opportunities and better achievement for all students (White, 1995). There are about a dozen districts divided among the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that have at least one school currently using a year-round/modified calendar, but it is not a widespread trend at this time.
To fully appreciate year-round education, it helps to understand some of the different formats it can accommodate. Generally, on a year-round calendar, students attend school for a prescribed length of time (this can be 45, 60, or 90 days), and then have a vacation, often referred to as an intercession. This break commonly lasts 15 days, but can be as long as 20, 30, or even 40 days. Some of the more common configurations are: 45 days on—15 days off, 60-15 (with most of July off), 60-20, and 90-30 (Serifs, 1990). Student tracks are another important aspect of year-round systems. Tracks are the groups students are divided into which share the same schedule rotation. A school can have up to four or possibly even more tracks, and as few as one, though it is the staggered rotation of multiple tracks that enable schools to combat overcrowding.
What are the Benefits of Year-Round Education?
Today, year-round scheduling is used largely to combat severe overcrowding as an alternative to expensive building plans that can cost taxpayers millions of dollars, though this is not always the case (Schnieder & Townley, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993). Some districts choose year-round calendars because of the benefits it has for students. As with other schedule changes, educators have found that there are numerous advantages associated with year-round calendars. The following list details the common benefits of year-round programs to students, teachers, and the community.
Students:
Benefit from a more continuous learning pattern, and a reduced need for review (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993; Morse, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Can benefit from optional remediation programs offered during intercessions as opposed to lengthy repetition during regular session that might put them behind other students. Intercessions can also provide a means for enrichment activities for all students (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993).
May have a marked improvement in their overall school performance, especially if they come from a home environ ment that does not reinforce school learning (Morse, 1992).
Often feel more enthusiastic and motivated about school (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Teachers:
Experience less burnout and fatigue, just as students do, as a result of the shorter instructional cycles (Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
Are absent from school less (Serifs, 1990; Goldman, 1990).
Spend less time reviewing material they have already taught.
Can earn extra income by teaching during the intercessions (Serifs, 1990; Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
The School and Community:
Save money by choosing the year-round model over new construction, and can increase the school capacity by 25 percent (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Experience less vandalism that can occur during long summer breaks (Serifs, 1990).
See less incidence of juvenile delinquency (Serifs, 1990).
What Are the Concerns?
Of the three scheduling alternatives discussed in this booklet, year-round schedules are probably the most challenging to implement. Saving money by maximizing school building utilization should not be the sole motivation behind adopting a year-round schedule (Glines, 1987). Implementing a year-round calendar is a complicated process that requires the commitment not only from school staff and students, but from parents and the community as well. The whole community surrounding a year-round school or district will be affected. In order for educators to convince parents and the community that a year-round model should be implemented, they will need to counter many old arguments about time in school and present logical, compelling reasons about the benefits of modifying the traditional school calendar (Dlugosh, 1994). Just as important as knowing the benefits, however, is knowing about possible difficulties. Educators must be fully aware of the complications often associated with year-round scheduling in order to communicate effectively with the community and to create a successful program. Some of these are outlined in the following list:
The initial cost of setting up a year-round program may be high. Renovations, such as extra storage and air conditioning, are a must in order for the program to run smoothly (Serifs, 1990).
Some of the savings resulting from year-round programs will be offset by increased district costs, such as more school office staff or additional teaching staff (Serifs, 1990).
There will be less time for large-scale cleaning and maintenance (Serifs, 1990).
There will be more wear and tear on the building (Serifs, 1990).
The scheduling process itself is quite complex and will need careful management (Goldman, 1990).
Unless the school is using a single track plan, every school function that occurs, including parent conferences, faculty meetings, and open houses, will have to be done more than once because one segment of the school population will always be gone (Goldman, 1990; Moore, 1992).
Careful coordination with district specialist services (i.e., speech therapists, occupational therapists, or other consultants) will be necessary, as most of them do not normally work with students over the summer (Moore, 1992).
Parents may become frustrated if their children do not have common vacation times (Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Multiple-track systems require extensive packing between sessions as classrooms are often shared (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Continuing education coursework may be difficult for teachers to pursue.
Implementation Ideas
Because of the complexity of implementing a year-round schedule, it is important to be aware of several suggested steps. They are as follows:
Become familiar with research and information on year-round calendars. Visit other year-round schools. Find out as much as possible about the pros and cons, and how these relate to current district needs.
Involve all local education stakeholders in the decision making process. This should include teachers, students, parents, classified staff, and the community. Keeping them informed throughout the process will minimize conflict (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993; Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
Remember that it is most critical to have the support of teachers; if they are not in favor of the decision, there is little probability that it will be successful (Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
When designing the actual schedule, consider the following (White, 1995):
The configuration of the calendar; will it be 45-15, 60-15, or something else?
The number of student tracks that will work best with the chosen configuration
The number of holidays during the year
The unique needs of the school and community; build a schedule that best suits them
Provide ample time for staff development. The year-round schedule will require extensive changes in everything from facilities logistics to the pacing of classes (Serifs, 1990).
Be prepared to deal with curricula concerns such as course sequencing and continuity, and student remediation and enrichment (Serifs, 1990).
If possible, make the program voluntary during its initial stages. Also, let parents have a say in what track their children will be in; give them as many choices as possible (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993).
Assure that the new schedule is in line with accreditation and teacher contract requirements.
Monitor the program continuously; be flexible and attentive to the needs of all involved.
Do not rush implementation and do not make any hasty evaluations. Accurate assessment of the program will take time (Serifs, 1990).
I've got a ton of great stuff about child care. If I will share it is another one. I'm just joking!!!!!
Hope this helps.
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Four-Day School Week
What's It All About?
The motivating force behind a school changing to a four-day week is quite different than that which causes a school to adopt a block schedule. Faced with dwindling financial resources and declining enrollments, many small school districts have adopted a four-day school schedule (Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Koki, 1992; School Fits, 1983; Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983; Blankenship, 1984). By extending the time spent in school for four days, (by approximately 25 percent or 75 minutes per day) they are able to close the school on the fifth. Instead of cutting art, music, or other activities that often fall prey to budgetary shortfalls, the four-day week gives schools the opportunity to preserve these classes and still save money. Generally schools that use a four-day week are small, rural schools. In the Northwest, Oregon is the only state with schools using a four-day schedule. More than a dozen districts there currently observe a four-day week. Other states, including Washington, Idaho, and Montana do not have legislation that permits four-day week schedules.
Most often, schools that switch to a four-day week take either Friday or Monday off. Those choosing to close on Friday say that it is best because such a large portion of the student population misses school due to athletic events and other activities on this day. Those choosing to close school on Monday do so because gymnasiums often have to be lit and heated for Friday athletic events and activities, whereas few such activities occur on Mondays (Blankenship, 1984). Regardless of which day schools close, the decision to switch to a four-day week should be "based on clearly defined purposes and a recognition of both costs and benefits" (Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of a Four-Day Week?
Though financially motivated, most schools that adopt a four-day week have serendipitously discovered numerous benefits they didn't quite expect. Following is a list of the advantages of the four-day week that many schools have encountered for students, teachers, and the school in general.
Students and Teachers:
Student drop-out rates decline (Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
Student disciplinary referrals decrease (Koki, 1992).
Student achievement is generally not affected either positively or negatively (Nelson, 1983; Daly & Richburg, 1984).
Student and teacher attendance improves (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Students and teachers benefit from less interrupted class time as a result of longer class periods and fewer transitions at all grade levels. This increases the efficiency of instruction (Blankenship, 1984; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
Students and teachers share more positive attitudes about school. Consequently, there is a marked improvement in school morale (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
School faculty has more time for quality staff development (often the day off is used for this purpose) (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
There is more time for participation in extracurricular activities and for personal business, such as doctor appointments (Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
The School in General:
Has significant savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses, and building wear and tear (Blankenship, 1984; Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Can make up school days missed due to inclement weather on what would have been the fifth school day instead of at the end of the school year (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
Experiences fewer distractions; learning is less broken up by athletic events or other school activities (Blankenship, 1984; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
What Are the Concerns?
Weighing both the advantages and the possible disadvantages of any new scheduling format is critical to making an informed decision. Some of the concerns associated with the four-day week that are important to note include:
Child care issues: While some parents like the four-day week because they prefer having to find good child care one day a week, others dislike it for the very same reason and prefer to arrange for child care in smaller increments of time. Some schools have alleviated this concern by using high school students as baby-sitters for those in need (Blankenship, 1984).
Primary-aged students: There is often concern as to how young students will respond to such a long school day. As a result, many schools structure the day so the afternoon is composed of less academic work than the morning, thus allowing students to have some "down time" (Blankenship, 1984).
At-risk students: Some teachers feel that at-risk and special-needs students may have retention difficulties with an extra day off each week (Blankenship, 1984; Culbertson, 1982).
School reform movement: Some educators are concerned that the four-day week may appear to be inconsistent with the new emphasis for more time in school (Blankenship, 1984).
The four-day week will take more of a local community commitment than other schedule options as it can affect daily community routines as well as the childrens'.
Implementation Ideas
When contemplating the decision to move to a four-day week, keep in mind that it is a multistep process. Some suggested steps for implementation are:
Become as familiar with the concepts and implications of a four-day week as possible. Read research and case studies. Talk to other administrators and teachers using this schedule.
Survey the staff; they must be involved in the decision making process. If they aren't in favor of a four-day schedule, it will be difficult to proceed (Litke, 1994).
Get the endorsement of the students, parents, and community in addition to approval from teachers and administration, since this change will affect all of them as well (Litke, 1994).
Design the schedule to accommodate the needs of teachers and students. Make sure all changes stay within accreditation guidelines and teachers' contract requirements.
Some restructuring and repacing of the curriculum will be necessary. Involve school staff; this will give them ownership of the process and also help them to feel more ready for the change. Provide ample time for staff development (Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Featherstone, 1991).
Once the schedule is in place, monitor its effects frequently. Keep communication open between administrators, teachers, students, and parents.
Allow a sufficient trial period before making any final recommendations on the schedule (Blankenship, 1984).
If possible, use the day off as an opportunity to provide students in need with enrichment activities or additional instruction (Koki, 1992).
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Year-Round Education
What's It All About?
Communities are often motivated to select year-round calendars due to booming student enrollment and a lack of funding to construct new school buildings. Even though year-round education may seem like an educational innovation, it has actually been around for quite some time. At the beginning of this century, population centers such as New York and Baltimore were sites of year-round education programs. A shift in societal needs, coupled with a largely agrarian society, altered the school calendar and made it what it is today (White, 1995; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993). Because we are no longer bound to agrarian calendars, many educators now feel that rearranging or even extending the school year can increase opportunities and better achievement for all students (White, 1995). There are about a dozen districts divided among the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that have at least one school currently using a year-round/modified calendar, but it is not a widespread trend at this time.
To fully appreciate year-round education, it helps to understand some of the different formats it can accommodate. Generally, on a year-round calendar, students attend school for a prescribed length of time (this can be 45, 60, or 90 days), and then have a vacation, often referred to as an intercession. This break commonly lasts 15 days, but can be as long as 20, 30, or even 40 days. Some of the more common configurations are: 45 days on—15 days off, 60-15 (with most of July off), 60-20, and 90-30 (Serifs, 1990). Student tracks are another important aspect of year-round systems. Tracks are the groups students are divided into which share the same schedule rotation. A school can have up to four or possibly even more tracks, and as few as one, though it is the staggered rotation of multiple tracks that enable schools to combat overcrowding.
What are the Benefits of Year-Round Education?
Today, year-round scheduling is used largely to combat severe overcrowding as an alternative to expensive building plans that can cost taxpayers millions of dollars, though this is not always the case (Schnieder & Townley, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993). Some districts choose year-round calendars because of the benefits it has for students. As with other schedule changes, educators have found that there are numerous advantages associated with year-round calendars. The following list details the common benefits of year-round programs to students, teachers, and the community.
Students:
Benefit from a more continuous learning pattern, and a reduced need for review (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993; Morse, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Can benefit from optional remediation programs offered during intercessions as opposed to lengthy repetition during regular session that might put them behind other students. Intercessions can also provide a means for enrichment activities for all students (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993).
May have a marked improvement in their overall school performance, especially if they come from a home environ ment that does not reinforce school learning (Morse, 1992).
Often feel more enthusiastic and motivated about school (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Teachers:
Experience less burnout and fatigue, just as students do, as a result of the shorter instructional cycles (Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
Are absent from school less (Serifs, 1990; Goldman, 1990).
Spend less time reviewing material they have already taught.
Can earn extra income by teaching during the intercessions (Serifs, 1990; Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
The School and Community:
Save money by choosing the year-round model over new construction, and can increase the school capacity by 25 percent (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Experience less vandalism that can occur during long summer breaks (Serifs, 1990).
See less incidence of juvenile delinquency (Serifs, 1990).
What Are the Concerns?
Of the three scheduling alternatives discussed in this booklet, year-round schedules are probably the most challenging to implement. Saving money by maximizing school building utilization should not be the sole motivation behind adopting a year-round schedule (Glines, 1987). Implementing a year-round calendar is a complicated process that requires the commitment not only from school staff and students, but from parents and the community as well. The whole community surrounding a year-round school or district will be affected. In order for educators to convince parents and the community that a year-round model should be implemented, they will need to counter many old arguments about time in school and present logical, compelling reasons about the benefits of modifying the traditional school calendar (Dlugosh, 1994). Just as important as knowing the benefits, however, is knowing about possible difficulties. Educators must be fully aware of the complications often associated with year-round scheduling in order to communicate effectively with the community and to create a successful program. Some of these are outlined in the following list:
The initial cost of setting up a year-round program may be high. Renovations, such as extra storage and air conditioning, are a must in order for the program to run smoothly (Serifs, 1990).
Some of the savings resulting from year-round programs will be offset by increased district costs, such as more school office staff or additional teaching staff (Serifs, 1990).
There will be less time for large-scale cleaning and maintenance (Serifs, 1990).
There will be more wear and tear on the building (Serifs, 1990).
The scheduling process itself is quite complex and will need careful management (Goldman, 1990).
Unless the school is using a single track plan, every school function that occurs, including parent conferences, faculty meetings, and open houses, will have to be done more than once because one segment of the school population will always be gone (Goldman, 1990; Moore, 1992).
Careful coordination with district specialist services (i.e., speech therapists, occupational therapists, or other consultants) will be necessary, as most of them do not normally work with students over the summer (Moore, 1992).
Parents may become frustrated if their children do not have common vacation times (Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Multiple-track systems require extensive packing between sessions as classrooms are often shared (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Continuing education coursework may be difficult for teachers to pursue.
Implementation Ideas
Because of the complexity of implementing a year-round schedule, it is important to be aware of several suggested steps. They are as follows:
Become familiar with research and information on year-round calendars. Visit other year-round schools. Find out as much as possible about the pros and cons, and how these relate to current district needs.
Involve all local education stakeholders in the decision making process. This should include teachers, students, parents, classified staff, and the community. Keeping them informed throughout the process will minimize conflict (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993; Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
Remember that it is most critical to have the support of teachers; if they are not in favor of the decision, there is little probability that it will be successful (Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
When designing the actual schedule, consider the following (White, 1995):
The configuration of the calendar; will it be 45-15, 60-15, or something else?
The number of student tracks that will work best with the chosen configuration
The number of holidays during the year
The unique needs of the school and community; build a schedule that best suits them
Provide ample time for staff development. The year-round schedule will require extensive changes in everything from facilities logistics to the pacing of classes (Serifs, 1990).
Be prepared to deal with curricula concerns such as course sequencing and continuity, and student remediation and enrichment (Serifs, 1990).
If possible, make the program voluntary during its initial stages. Also, let parents have a say in what track their children will be in; give them as many choices as possible (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993).
Assure that the new schedule is in line with accreditation and teacher contract requirements.
Monitor the program continuously; be flexible and attentive to the needs of all involved.
Do not rush implementation and do not make any hasty evaluations. Accurate assessment of the program will take time (Serifs, 1990).
What is up? I am scared of the debate! Guess what I might have a cast on my leg when it is the tournement!!!!!! Do u think I could make people feel bad for me and get speaker pionts for it? :D That might be the only good part of having a cast on!!
So how is everyone doing I know Gabe is sick but he almost always has gymnastics i am still mad @ him, we live down a alley way from each other I mean really!!!!
Truly,
Elli Sanchez <3
So how is everyone doing I know Gabe is sick but he almost always has gymnastics i am still mad @ him, we live down a alley way from each other I mean really!!!!
Truly,
Elli Sanchez <3
A Question
Does anybody have any child care articles they can tell me about for the 4-day school week if so please tell me I haven't found anythig about child care yet.thank you.
?
Does anybody have more articles about childcare? I would like to get some more info about it . So if you have anything about the issues of childcare please post something ! Thank You !!!!!!!!
ABC News article
Districts Debate Four-Day School Week
Parents Question If Cutting Back Saves School Money at Expense of Kids' Education
By KATE SNOWPUEBLO, Colo., April 14, 2009
On the outskirts of Pueblo, Colo., in a district called Pueblo 70, school buses log a combined total of 7,300 miles every single day. Cutting Fridays off the school schedule could save the district a bundle in gas costs alone.
Will a switch to the four-day school week do more harm than good?
Enrollment is down across the district, and because of the recession, state funds have been cut back.
"Out of a $60 million budget, we have to cut about $4.5 million out of our budget," said Dan Lere, superintendent of the Pueblo 70 School District. "Going to a four-day week will net us about $1.2 million in savings."
The school board is considering switching its 8,000 students from the traditional five-day week to four longer school days Monday through Thursday.
They wouldn't be alone.
Schools in at least 19 states already operate only four days a week, and districts in a dozen states are considering making the move to cut back on costs or are considering legislation to allow it.
Related
3-Day Weekend: Schools Out for Gas Prices
Giving Up Pay to Save Colleagues' Jobs
School Budgets Suffer: Sports, Buses Cut
Reducing the school week is also not a brand new idea. During the oil crisis of the late 1970s, schools in the West switched to shorter weeks to save money on gas for buses.
In Pueblo, the idea has raised debate among parents.
With students logging 50 fewer hours in the classroom over the course of the school year, many are worried that savings for schools come at the expense of children's education.
adsonar_placementId=1280609;adsonar_pid=59750;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=165;adsonar_zh=220;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com';
"How are the teachers going to structure it so they can get the quality of education they would get in a five-day week?" asked Diane House, a mother of two, whose children go to school in Pueblo. "It seems like a long day for a 6 year-old, 7 year-old, 8 year-old to handle. We are tired at the end of an eight-hour or nine-hour workday, and they are just little guys."
Other skeptics point out that four-day school weeks drop hidden costs on families for additional child care.
"Asking working parents to find day care, and you are adding a cost to those people, and the economy the way it is, a lot of families are going to struggle with it," said Kim Arline, mother of two.
Parents Question If Cutting Back Saves School Money at Expense of Kids' Education
By KATE SNOWPUEBLO, Colo., April 14, 2009
On the outskirts of Pueblo, Colo., in a district called Pueblo 70, school buses log a combined total of 7,300 miles every single day. Cutting Fridays off the school schedule could save the district a bundle in gas costs alone.
Will a switch to the four-day school week do more harm than good?
Enrollment is down across the district, and because of the recession, state funds have been cut back.
"Out of a $60 million budget, we have to cut about $4.5 million out of our budget," said Dan Lere, superintendent of the Pueblo 70 School District. "Going to a four-day week will net us about $1.2 million in savings."
The school board is considering switching its 8,000 students from the traditional five-day week to four longer school days Monday through Thursday.
They wouldn't be alone.
Schools in at least 19 states already operate only four days a week, and districts in a dozen states are considering making the move to cut back on costs or are considering legislation to allow it.
Related
3-Day Weekend: Schools Out for Gas Prices
Giving Up Pay to Save Colleagues' Jobs
School Budgets Suffer: Sports, Buses Cut
Reducing the school week is also not a brand new idea. During the oil crisis of the late 1970s, schools in the West switched to shorter weeks to save money on gas for buses.
In Pueblo, the idea has raised debate among parents.
With students logging 50 fewer hours in the classroom over the course of the school year, many are worried that savings for schools come at the expense of children's education.
adsonar_placementId=1280609;adsonar_pid=59750;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=165;adsonar_zh=220;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com';
"How are the teachers going to structure it so they can get the quality of education they would get in a five-day week?" asked Diane House, a mother of two, whose children go to school in Pueblo. "It seems like a long day for a 6 year-old, 7 year-old, 8 year-old to handle. We are tired at the end of an eight-hour or nine-hour workday, and they are just little guys."
Other skeptics point out that four-day school weeks drop hidden costs on families for additional child care.
"Asking working parents to find day care, and you are adding a cost to those people, and the economy the way it is, a lot of families are going to struggle with it," said Kim Arline, mother of two.
Oops here's the link to a ABC video
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=7334014&page=1
This is the real link.
This is the real link.
Hannah you stole my idea!!!
I was going to use that Hannah !!!
You stole it!!! Well I sent it to you ,but its still stealing.
You stole it!!! Well I sent it to you ,but its still stealing.
Extra info
Here guys is some info!!!
Zoe
Zoe
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facing a crippling increase in fuel costs, some rural U.S. schools are mulling a solution born of the '70s oil crisis: a four-day week.
Cutting out one day of school has been the key to preserving educational programs and staff in parts of Kentucky, New Mexico and Minnesota, outweighing some parents' concerns about finding day-care for the day off.
"For rural school districts where buses may travel 100 miles round-trip each day, there certainly are transportation savings worth considering," said Marc Egan, the director of federal affairs at the National School Boards Association.
Egan said about 100 schools in as many as 16 states have already moved to a four-day school week, many to save money on transportation, heating and cooling.
Nevada's White Pine School District switched just one of its schools to a four-day week three years ago. Now, with energy costs soaring, four other schools in the district are following suit.
"We're looking at it district-wide with energy costs being at the forefront of the conversation," said Bob Dolezal, superintendent of Nevada's White Pine County School District, which is facing a 14 percent budget cut due to a shortfall in state funding.
MACCRAY Public Schools in Minnesota, which voted to switch to a four-day week in May, expects to shave 10 percent off transportation costs, which have risen unexpectedly in recent years as fuel costs have shot up.
"The savings for a four-day week just on the transportation alone were $65,000," said MACCRAY superintendent Greg Schmidt.
The plan initially did cause alarm among some parents, who were concerned about finding child-care, but most have managed to find place their kids in day care or with relatives, Schmidt said. In addition, MACCRAY plans to institute a child-care certification program for older students to offer day care for younger kids on the day off.
One of the pioneers of the four-day week, the Cimarron, New Mexico school district, is looking to cut energy costs by getting back to its roots.
Cimarron Public Schools moved a four-day week when energy prices shot up in the early 1970s, but has become more "complacent," letting the heating and cooling systems run even during the day off since the end of the OPEC oil embargo, Cimarron's superintendent James Gallegos said.
With soaring energy costs, that will no longer be the case: "As we start the next school year, it's going to be very minimal on the Fridays that we are off," Gallegos said.
Webster County School District in Kentucky switched to a four-day week four years ago under economic duress -- a state budget crisis left the school in limbo, leaving the district with the option of dropping school days or cutting staff and programs.
The district ended up saving tens of thousands of dollars in fuel and energy costs, helping to cut total costs by 3.5 to 4 percent, said James Kemp, the superintendent of the Webster County School District.
The shortened week at Webster also brought unexpected benefits such as improved attendance and a boost in student performance.
"If we were to go back to a five-day week, the school board and I would be run out of town," Kemp said.
(Editing by David Wiessler)
We are behind
Should students be going to school longer? I think the school day is too short, the school week is too short and the school year is too short. And I worry particularly about poor children — children who don't have two parents at home, children who don't have a household full of books. You look at all the creative schools that are getting dramatically better results. The common denominator of all of them is they're spending more time, doing more after school, doing more on Saturdays, doing more over the summer. The other big issue is that ultimately if we don't do more time, our kids are at a competitive disadvantage. Kids in India, China are going to school 25% to 30% more than students here.
-Annie
-Annie
Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3....
Hi everyone! Just posting to make sure that I can! Talk to you later!
Emilie
Emilie
ABC News
This is the link so you can see the video http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=7334014&page=1 it' s agood video.
Senator Kevin Ranker sent this to my email.
Hi everyone! Okay so heres what the Senator Kevin Ranker sent me regarding the 4 day school week.
40th Legislative District April 10, 2009
There are only two-and-a-half weeks left in this legislative session and budgets will dominate discussions as the House and Senate try to reach agreements on the final operating, transportation and capital budgets.
I look forward to lively but civil debate as we make some very difficult decisions. As always, I welcome your ideas and comments.
The Budget Proposals
Last week we introduced a two-year, balanced budget proposal that closes the state’s historic shortfall with serious cuts to valued programs and services. With tax collections continuing to fall, the Senate plan would eliminate thousands of jobs for teachers, higher education workers and other state employees as well as 10,500 students cut from our state colleges and universities.
The plan relies on $3 billion in one-time federal stimulus money and cuts to programs, health care and planned wage increases for teachers and state employees and leaves $850 million in reserves.
The budget the Senate proposed is a product of our ailing economy and every part of government faces cuts. Over 40% of our budget is spent on our state’s public school system. Unfortunately, the education of our children – the paramount duty of our state – faces dangerous cuts.
The biggest cuts our education system faces are the suspension of two voter approved initiatives that fund cost of living pay raises for school employees and reduce classroom sizes. While I am reluctant to support a freeze on teachers’ salaries or severely cut I-728 I understand the reality of fairly distributing the burden of the budget crisis. But we can’t forget about the needs of our future.
Voters supported I-728 to reduce classroom size in 2000 by a 72 percent margin for good reason and I am working to reinstate additional funding for smaller class sizes into the final budget. I am convinced that too many students get lost in overcrowded classrooms. Balancing our budget at such a cost to our students will only cost our state more in the long-run.
We need to realize this is a moment in our state’s history unlike any other and now is not the time to think of decimating education. Instead we must work together to plan for fully funding education and work on the investments that are needed to keep our schools competitive for generations to come.
The budget cuts that have been proposed represent some of the most difficult choices I’ve ever seen throughout my career in the public and private sectors. We’re tasked with finding that delicate balance between the values that people like you and I hold dear and the cold harsh budget realities facing our state.
These challenges that lie before us are daunting but I sincerely believe that in a time of crisis like this, if we work hard and look toward the future generations of our state, we can position ourselves for great things in the years to come.
Infrastructure investments
Along with the operating budget, we have scaled back the state’s long term investments in the capital budget and our transportation investments. The construction projects that are funded in these two budgets will create local jobs and provide valuable infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come.
The capital budget covers all our K-12 construction commitments and our most critical higher education projects. It also provides $115 million in bonds and $107 million in federal stimulus money in the form of grants to local government infrastructure projects.
Locally, the proposed budget has over $90 million in investments heading to our communities which will shore up our infrastructure and stimulate our local economies. Some of these projects include:
· Over $85 million of investment at Western Washington University, including more than $50 million for renovating the aging Miller Hall
· Nearly $3.8 million to Skagit Valley College for maintenance and preservation, and its Academic and Student Services Building
· $265,000 to help with the Padilla Bay Reserve
· Nearly $1 million to replace sewer lift stations at Moran State Park
· Over $460,000 for investments at Department of Natural Resources Natural Areas facilities near Anacortes and on San Juan Island
· An additional $1.5 million was added to a previous $4 million investment for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for preservation projects on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County.
While we’ve had to make painful cuts to balance our 2009 operating budget, the capital budget investments will be paid with bonds over 30 years. We’re investing for the future and helping local economies today and looking toward a time when the economy is healthy again.
Transportation
I’m pleased to report that the Senate has passed our version of the 2009 transportation budget, which will invest over $4 billion across the state and over $90 million locally in our district. Funded primarily with our state’s gas taxes, these funds are constitutionally dedicated to building, maintaining and operating our state highway system — including the marine highways serviced by Washington State Ferries.
The many projects that will improve transportation throughout the district include ramp reconstruction and stormwater drainage improvements to I-5, widening SR-20, a new Chuckanut Park & Ride and ferry terminal improvement and preservation work on Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ll also keep the Anacortes – Sidney ferry run operating, limit increases in fares to no more than 2.5 percent and speed up construction of new ferries by 10 years.
These are important projects that will improve transportation and also provide valuable jobs at exactly the time our economy needs them.
I am hopeful that budget negotiations with the House with result in a final budget that maintains these valuable projects.
As always, I welcome your thoughts on the issues we are considering in Olympia. You may email me at ranker.kevin@leg.wa.gov, phone the toll-free hotline number to leave a message at 1-800-562-6000, or call my office in Olympia at 360-786-7678.
For the latest up to date news on what I’m working on while the Legislature is in session, please visit my web page at http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/ranker/
Take care.
40th Legislative District April 10, 2009
There are only two-and-a-half weeks left in this legislative session and budgets will dominate discussions as the House and Senate try to reach agreements on the final operating, transportation and capital budgets.
I look forward to lively but civil debate as we make some very difficult decisions. As always, I welcome your ideas and comments.
The Budget Proposals
Last week we introduced a two-year, balanced budget proposal that closes the state’s historic shortfall with serious cuts to valued programs and services. With tax collections continuing to fall, the Senate plan would eliminate thousands of jobs for teachers, higher education workers and other state employees as well as 10,500 students cut from our state colleges and universities.
The plan relies on $3 billion in one-time federal stimulus money and cuts to programs, health care and planned wage increases for teachers and state employees and leaves $850 million in reserves.
The budget the Senate proposed is a product of our ailing economy and every part of government faces cuts. Over 40% of our budget is spent on our state’s public school system. Unfortunately, the education of our children – the paramount duty of our state – faces dangerous cuts.
The biggest cuts our education system faces are the suspension of two voter approved initiatives that fund cost of living pay raises for school employees and reduce classroom sizes. While I am reluctant to support a freeze on teachers’ salaries or severely cut I-728 I understand the reality of fairly distributing the burden of the budget crisis. But we can’t forget about the needs of our future.
Voters supported I-728 to reduce classroom size in 2000 by a 72 percent margin for good reason and I am working to reinstate additional funding for smaller class sizes into the final budget. I am convinced that too many students get lost in overcrowded classrooms. Balancing our budget at such a cost to our students will only cost our state more in the long-run.
We need to realize this is a moment in our state’s history unlike any other and now is not the time to think of decimating education. Instead we must work together to plan for fully funding education and work on the investments that are needed to keep our schools competitive for generations to come.
The budget cuts that have been proposed represent some of the most difficult choices I’ve ever seen throughout my career in the public and private sectors. We’re tasked with finding that delicate balance between the values that people like you and I hold dear and the cold harsh budget realities facing our state.
These challenges that lie before us are daunting but I sincerely believe that in a time of crisis like this, if we work hard and look toward the future generations of our state, we can position ourselves for great things in the years to come.
Infrastructure investments
Along with the operating budget, we have scaled back the state’s long term investments in the capital budget and our transportation investments. The construction projects that are funded in these two budgets will create local jobs and provide valuable infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come.
The capital budget covers all our K-12 construction commitments and our most critical higher education projects. It also provides $115 million in bonds and $107 million in federal stimulus money in the form of grants to local government infrastructure projects.
Locally, the proposed budget has over $90 million in investments heading to our communities which will shore up our infrastructure and stimulate our local economies. Some of these projects include:
· Over $85 million of investment at Western Washington University, including more than $50 million for renovating the aging Miller Hall
· Nearly $3.8 million to Skagit Valley College for maintenance and preservation, and its Academic and Student Services Building
· $265,000 to help with the Padilla Bay Reserve
· Nearly $1 million to replace sewer lift stations at Moran State Park
· Over $460,000 for investments at Department of Natural Resources Natural Areas facilities near Anacortes and on San Juan Island
· An additional $1.5 million was added to a previous $4 million investment for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for preservation projects on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County.
While we’ve had to make painful cuts to balance our 2009 operating budget, the capital budget investments will be paid with bonds over 30 years. We’re investing for the future and helping local economies today and looking toward a time when the economy is healthy again.
Transportation
I’m pleased to report that the Senate has passed our version of the 2009 transportation budget, which will invest over $4 billion across the state and over $90 million locally in our district. Funded primarily with our state’s gas taxes, these funds are constitutionally dedicated to building, maintaining and operating our state highway system — including the marine highways serviced by Washington State Ferries.
The many projects that will improve transportation throughout the district include ramp reconstruction and stormwater drainage improvements to I-5, widening SR-20, a new Chuckanut Park & Ride and ferry terminal improvement and preservation work on Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ll also keep the Anacortes – Sidney ferry run operating, limit increases in fares to no more than 2.5 percent and speed up construction of new ferries by 10 years.
These are important projects that will improve transportation and also provide valuable jobs at exactly the time our economy needs them.
I am hopeful that budget negotiations with the House with result in a final budget that maintains these valuable projects.
As always, I welcome your thoughts on the issues we are considering in Olympia. You may email me at ranker.kevin@leg.wa.gov, phone the toll-free hotline number to leave a message at 1-800-562-6000, or call my office in Olympia at 360-786-7678.
For the latest up to date news on what I’m working on while the Legislature is in session, please visit my web page at http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/ranker/
Take care.
This shows salarys and money costs!!!
Rationale - Four Day School Week
Budget Cuts – Both State/Local Revenue
Two State funding reductions had occurred during the 02-03 school year
Additional State funding shortfall was projected for the 03-04 school year
Continue the level of academic/extra-curricular programs vs. cuts in core areas/extra-curricular programs
Four Day School Planning, Process And Research
Stakeholders brainstormed/discussed possible options to address the budget shortfall
Four day week was discussed with advantages/disadvantages being charted
Prepared sample school calendar for KDE input and review
Consulted National School Boards Association for a list of schools currently utilizing this model
Found that East Grand Schools in Colorado was the most similar school district to Webster County Schools and has implemented this model since 1982 successfully
Specific district level administrators were contacted to obtain information about issues, advantages, disadvantages, and other considerations about the four day week
In February of 2003 the Superintendent presented budget information comparing five day vs. four day week and the administration was given approval to continue the process
Findings were then presented to stakeholder groups which included: board members, calendar committee, certified and classified staff, administrators, and students
A draft calendar was developed and presented to community groups
Developed child supervision initiatives – Child Watch Program. Trained high school students in CPR/First Aid and child supervision curriculum, worked with FRYSC & YES Centers
Ministerial Associations considered student programs for Mondays for parents that would be interested
District food service staff obtained State approval for the “Summer Feeding Program” model on Mondays for students participating in community programs
Consulted with Employee Retirement Agency to address full-time employee benefits and requirements
District administrators met with State finance representatives to review proposed budget issues, costs, savings, salary issues, etc.
Determined that calendar would be Tuesday through Friday based on analysis of past attendance history
In May of 2003 the Four Day School Calendar was approved
Student Achievement Advantages
Continue all current academic/extra-curricular programs;
Provide quality ongoing professional development;
Structured Planning Mondays for all staff which included collaborative and individual time;
Reduction of teacher and student absenteeism;
Longer instructional time blocks for students;
Improved student and teacher morale;
Decrease in disciplinary infractions;
Family time would increase;
Tutoring programs for at-risk learners (ESL);
Community sponsored youth clubs/groups meetings: 4-H, Boy/Girls Scouts, etc.;
Area medical cooperation giving appointment priority to Webster County families;
Student employment opportunities;
Positive publicity for Webster County Schools;
Identified Economic Savings
Transportation Costs;
Operational Costs;
Substitute teachers for professional development activities within school day;
Substitute teacher utilization for absences;
Contract revisions for classified employees;
Work schedules/job functions for classified staff adjusted;
Four Day Week Challenges
Options for child supervision;
New paradigm for public school in KY;
Sustained student achievements;
Academic rigor throughout entire school day;
Classified contract adjustments;
Support staff morale;
Marketing the new calendar;
Kentucky Area Technology Center program viability;
State Law Compliance
Students will receive a minimum of 1050 hours of instruction (702 KAR 7:125);
Students will receive a minimum of 6.0 hours of instruction per day;
Teachers are contracted for 185 school days;
Students receive 1067 instructional hours;
Students receive avg. of 6.5 hours of instruction per day (30 minutes additional minutes) – 163 instructional days;
Teacher contracts are for 185 days – includes mandatory planning Mondays;
Regular, full-time non-certified employee – requires minimum of (80) hours per school month and minimum of 180 days. (KRS 158.070, 060, and 702 KAR 1:035)
All full-time non-certified employees signed contracts that met state requirements and provided full health insurance benefits;
Teacher Planning Mondays
Structured planning activities from 8-12;
Schedule includes faculty meetings; collaborative planning; committee meetings/individual planning;
Part of 185 day contract;
District Teacher Leader Team established;
Two hours on three separate Mondays – Teacher Leaders provide research-based instructional strategies training for all teachers in the district;
Reductions/Eliminations - 2003-2004
Payroll Clerk -24,000.00
Receptionist - 10,000.00
Co-Op Student - 3,000.00
Eliminated Extended Days from High School Teaching Staff (AG Excluded) Reduced Guidance/Library Days Reduced Extended Days for Administrators - 20,000.00
Reduced Middle School Academic/Athletic Program - 10,000.00
Reduced Academic/ Athletic Supplements - 25,000.00
Reduced Extra-Curricular Allotment for Transportation - 25,400.00
Eliminated Bus Routes - 50,000.00
Actual Savings as of June 2004
Certified Subs - 24,411.36
Classified Subs - 10,559.09
Overtime - 3,497.01
Classified In Addition To - 1,664.19
Extra Curricular Bus Trips (Salary/Fuel) Includes Charter Bus7,500.00
36 Non-Transport Student Days (Includes Drivers, Monitors, Fuel) - 52,020.00
Workman’s Comp For 02-03 paid 98,655.00, for 03-04 paid 75,596.30, 23,058.70
Workman’s Compensation Bid For 2003-2004
Bid #1 75,596.30
Bid #2 121,415.70
Bid #3 140,044.00
Bid #4 170,580.00
Utilities (12,837.32) More
Water 2,605.29 Savings
Gas 9,344.83 Increase
Electricity 6,097.78 Increase
Reduced Technology Escrow 8,761.00
Reduced Mt./Repair Expenses 35,000.00
Final $$$$$$$$$$$$
Reductions & Eliminations - 167,400.00
Savings as of June - 153,634.03
Total Savings - 321,034.03
Bell Time/Instructional Time
Clay SchoolSchool Begins – 7:50School Ends – 3:25Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 35 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 40 minutes Dixon SchoolSchool Begins – 8:00School Ends – 3:20Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 20 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 35 minutes Sebree SchoolSchool Begins – 7:45School Ends – 3:15Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 30 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 45 minutes Slaughters SchoolSchool Begins – 7:50School Ends – 3:25Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 35 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 45 minutes Webster County High SchoolSchool Begins – 7:52School Ends – 3:05Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 13 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 40 minutes District Average Instructional Time
Take the school with least amount of instructional time 6 hours 35 minutes x by 163 instructional days = 1067 Total hours
Traditional Calendar – 6 hours of instruction per day x 175 days = 1050 Total hours
Bus Driver Salary Based On 4 Day Week
Example 1 – Bus Driver – Regular Route
163 Instructional days x 6 hours per day = 978 Hours (Instructional)
4 Holidays x 6 hours per day
13 days x 2 hours per day (To fulfill contract days)
Total Contract 180 days
Instructional Assistants Salary Schedule
175 Instructional Days x 6 hours per day = 1050 hours
4 Holidays x 6 hours per day = 24 hours
2 Training Days x 6 hours per day = 12 hours
1086 Total hours x $7.68 hourly rate = $8340.00
Custodial Salary Schedule Based On 4 Day Week
Example 2 – 7 Hour Custodian
163 Instructional days x 7 hours per day = 1141 Hours (Instructional)
6 Holidays x 7 hours per day
91 days x 6.5 hours per day = 591.5 hours (Days that students are not in school 7 hour custodians work 6.5 hours)
Total Contract 260 days
Classified Salary Schedule Based On Traditional Calendar
175 Instructional Days x 7 hours per day = 1225 hours
6 Holidays x 7 hours per day = 42 hours
79 days x 7 hours per day = 553 hours
1820 Total hours x $7.68 hourly rate = $13,977.60
Feedback - Staff & Community
Next year consider having the 5-day weeks the first part of the semester. After summer, students and staff are ready to come back to school.
Staff and students have used the Mondays for appointments, therefore; attendance is better through the week.
No one seems to mind the few extra minutes that they come early or the 25 minutes that they stay late in the afternoon. The time adds up quickly and the days pass relatively fast.
Staff says that discipline is much better.
Staff enjoys the PD time on Monday for planning and working on team strategies.
Academic/Athletic Coaches benefit from having students come in on Monday’s after 12:30 to receive extra practice time.
Classified staff actually gets more work done on Mondays with little or no staff and no students.
Students like the opportunity to work on Mondays for extra spending money. The community also benefits.
4 Day Week Main
4 Day Week Videos
Copyright 2008 Webster County School District
Built by Orange 42, Inc.
Budget Cuts – Both State/Local Revenue
Two State funding reductions had occurred during the 02-03 school year
Additional State funding shortfall was projected for the 03-04 school year
Continue the level of academic/extra-curricular programs vs. cuts in core areas/extra-curricular programs
Four Day School Planning, Process And Research
Stakeholders brainstormed/discussed possible options to address the budget shortfall
Four day week was discussed with advantages/disadvantages being charted
Prepared sample school calendar for KDE input and review
Consulted National School Boards Association for a list of schools currently utilizing this model
Found that East Grand Schools in Colorado was the most similar school district to Webster County Schools and has implemented this model since 1982 successfully
Specific district level administrators were contacted to obtain information about issues, advantages, disadvantages, and other considerations about the four day week
In February of 2003 the Superintendent presented budget information comparing five day vs. four day week and the administration was given approval to continue the process
Findings were then presented to stakeholder groups which included: board members, calendar committee, certified and classified staff, administrators, and students
A draft calendar was developed and presented to community groups
Developed child supervision initiatives – Child Watch Program. Trained high school students in CPR/First Aid and child supervision curriculum, worked with FRYSC & YES Centers
Ministerial Associations considered student programs for Mondays for parents that would be interested
District food service staff obtained State approval for the “Summer Feeding Program” model on Mondays for students participating in community programs
Consulted with Employee Retirement Agency to address full-time employee benefits and requirements
District administrators met with State finance representatives to review proposed budget issues, costs, savings, salary issues, etc.
Determined that calendar would be Tuesday through Friday based on analysis of past attendance history
In May of 2003 the Four Day School Calendar was approved
Student Achievement Advantages
Continue all current academic/extra-curricular programs;
Provide quality ongoing professional development;
Structured Planning Mondays for all staff which included collaborative and individual time;
Reduction of teacher and student absenteeism;
Longer instructional time blocks for students;
Improved student and teacher morale;
Decrease in disciplinary infractions;
Family time would increase;
Tutoring programs for at-risk learners (ESL);
Community sponsored youth clubs/groups meetings: 4-H, Boy/Girls Scouts, etc.;
Area medical cooperation giving appointment priority to Webster County families;
Student employment opportunities;
Positive publicity for Webster County Schools;
Identified Economic Savings
Transportation Costs;
Operational Costs;
Substitute teachers for professional development activities within school day;
Substitute teacher utilization for absences;
Contract revisions for classified employees;
Work schedules/job functions for classified staff adjusted;
Four Day Week Challenges
Options for child supervision;
New paradigm for public school in KY;
Sustained student achievements;
Academic rigor throughout entire school day;
Classified contract adjustments;
Support staff morale;
Marketing the new calendar;
Kentucky Area Technology Center program viability;
State Law Compliance
Students will receive a minimum of 1050 hours of instruction (702 KAR 7:125);
Students will receive a minimum of 6.0 hours of instruction per day;
Teachers are contracted for 185 school days;
Students receive 1067 instructional hours;
Students receive avg. of 6.5 hours of instruction per day (30 minutes additional minutes) – 163 instructional days;
Teacher contracts are for 185 days – includes mandatory planning Mondays;
Regular, full-time non-certified employee – requires minimum of (80) hours per school month and minimum of 180 days. (KRS 158.070, 060, and 702 KAR 1:035)
All full-time non-certified employees signed contracts that met state requirements and provided full health insurance benefits;
Teacher Planning Mondays
Structured planning activities from 8-12;
Schedule includes faculty meetings; collaborative planning; committee meetings/individual planning;
Part of 185 day contract;
District Teacher Leader Team established;
Two hours on three separate Mondays – Teacher Leaders provide research-based instructional strategies training for all teachers in the district;
Reductions/Eliminations - 2003-2004
Payroll Clerk -24,000.00
Receptionist - 10,000.00
Co-Op Student - 3,000.00
Eliminated Extended Days from High School Teaching Staff (AG Excluded) Reduced Guidance/Library Days Reduced Extended Days for Administrators - 20,000.00
Reduced Middle School Academic/Athletic Program - 10,000.00
Reduced Academic/ Athletic Supplements - 25,000.00
Reduced Extra-Curricular Allotment for Transportation - 25,400.00
Eliminated Bus Routes - 50,000.00
Actual Savings as of June 2004
Certified Subs - 24,411.36
Classified Subs - 10,559.09
Overtime - 3,497.01
Classified In Addition To - 1,664.19
Extra Curricular Bus Trips (Salary/Fuel) Includes Charter Bus7,500.00
36 Non-Transport Student Days (Includes Drivers, Monitors, Fuel) - 52,020.00
Workman’s Comp For 02-03 paid 98,655.00, for 03-04 paid 75,596.30, 23,058.70
Workman’s Compensation Bid For 2003-2004
Bid #1 75,596.30
Bid #2 121,415.70
Bid #3 140,044.00
Bid #4 170,580.00
Utilities (12,837.32) More
Water 2,605.29 Savings
Gas 9,344.83 Increase
Electricity 6,097.78 Increase
Reduced Technology Escrow 8,761.00
Reduced Mt./Repair Expenses 35,000.00
Final $$$$$$$$$$$$
Reductions & Eliminations - 167,400.00
Savings as of June - 153,634.03
Total Savings - 321,034.03
Bell Time/Instructional Time
Clay SchoolSchool Begins – 7:50School Ends – 3:25Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 35 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 40 minutes Dixon SchoolSchool Begins – 8:00School Ends – 3:20Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 20 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 35 minutes Sebree SchoolSchool Begins – 7:45School Ends – 3:15Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 30 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 45 minutes Slaughters SchoolSchool Begins – 7:50School Ends – 3:25Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 35 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 45 minutes Webster County High SchoolSchool Begins – 7:52School Ends – 3:05Time Spent at School – 7 hrs 13 minutesInstructional Time – 6 hrs 40 minutes District Average Instructional Time
Take the school with least amount of instructional time 6 hours 35 minutes x by 163 instructional days = 1067 Total hours
Traditional Calendar – 6 hours of instruction per day x 175 days = 1050 Total hours
Bus Driver Salary Based On 4 Day Week
Example 1 – Bus Driver – Regular Route
163 Instructional days x 6 hours per day = 978 Hours (Instructional)
4 Holidays x 6 hours per day
13 days x 2 hours per day (To fulfill contract days)
Total Contract 180 days
Instructional Assistants Salary Schedule
175 Instructional Days x 6 hours per day = 1050 hours
4 Holidays x 6 hours per day = 24 hours
2 Training Days x 6 hours per day = 12 hours
1086 Total hours x $7.68 hourly rate = $8340.00
Custodial Salary Schedule Based On 4 Day Week
Example 2 – 7 Hour Custodian
163 Instructional days x 7 hours per day = 1141 Hours (Instructional)
6 Holidays x 7 hours per day
91 days x 6.5 hours per day = 591.5 hours (Days that students are not in school 7 hour custodians work 6.5 hours)
Total Contract 260 days
Classified Salary Schedule Based On Traditional Calendar
175 Instructional Days x 7 hours per day = 1225 hours
6 Holidays x 7 hours per day = 42 hours
79 days x 7 hours per day = 553 hours
1820 Total hours x $7.68 hourly rate = $13,977.60
Feedback - Staff & Community
Next year consider having the 5-day weeks the first part of the semester. After summer, students and staff are ready to come back to school.
Staff and students have used the Mondays for appointments, therefore; attendance is better through the week.
No one seems to mind the few extra minutes that they come early or the 25 minutes that they stay late in the afternoon. The time adds up quickly and the days pass relatively fast.
Staff says that discipline is much better.
Staff enjoys the PD time on Monday for planning and working on team strategies.
Academic/Athletic Coaches benefit from having students come in on Monday’s after 12:30 to receive extra practice time.
Classified staff actually gets more work done on Mondays with little or no staff and no students.
Students like the opportunity to work on Mondays for extra spending money. The community also benefits.
4 Day Week Main
4 Day Week Videos
Copyright 2008 Webster County School District
Built by Orange 42, Inc.
Heres the house bill 1292 (its long)
This is really important to read
H-0552.1 _____________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1292
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 61st Legislature 2009 Regular Session
By
Representatives Newhouse, Chandler, and Simpson
Read first time 01/16/09. Referred to Committee on Education.
1 AN ACT Relating to waivers from the one hundred eighty-day school
2 year; amending RCW 28A.655.180; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305
3 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.305.145; and providing
4 an expiration date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 1. The legislature finds that school districts
7 are seeking innovations to reduce operating costs and preserve limited
8 resources for the primary purpose of student learning. Efficiencies in
9 transportation, heat, lights, maintenance, and food expenses are
10 possible from operating for four rather than five days per week, but
11 current law poses a barrier to this innovation by requiring a set
12 number of instructional days in each school year. Current waiver
13 processes do not allow consideration of economies and efficiencies as
14 a justification for a waiver. School districts in several western
15 states have operated on a four-day school week and report increased
16 efficiencies, family support, reduced absenteeism, and no negative
17 impact on student learning. Small rural school districts in particular
18 could benefit due to their high per-pupil costs for transportation and
19 utilities. Therefore, the legislature intends to permit school
p. 1
School Day and Hour Requirements
A school district's basic educational program must consist of a minimum of 180 school days per
school year in such grades from 1 through 12 as are offered by the district. For kindergarten, a
district must offer 180 half-days or its equivalent of instruction. Hourly instructional
requirements are also set in law, at least 450 hours for kindergarten and a district-wide annual
average of 1000 hours for grades 1 through 12
1 districts to seek waivers from the school year requirement in order to
2 operate on a four-day school week, provided that adequate safeguards
3 are put in place to prevent any negative impact on student learning.
4 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305
5 RCW to read as follows:
6 (1) In addition to waivers authorized under RCW 28A.305.140 and
7 28A.655.180, the state board of education may grant waivers from the
8 requirement for a one hundred eighty-day school year under RCW
9 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.250 to school districts that propose to operate
10 one or more schools on a four-day school week for purposes of economy
11 and efficiency as provided in this section. The requirement under RCW
12 28A.150.220 that school districts offer an annual average instructional
13 hour offering of at least one thousand hours shall not be waived.
14 (2) A school district seeking a waiver under this section must
15 submit an application that includes:
16 (a) A proposed calendar for the school day and school year that
17 demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be maintained;
18 (b) An explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies
19 to be gained from compressing the instructional hours into fewer than
20 one hundred eighty days;
21 (c) An explanation of how monetary savings from the proposal will
22 be redirected to support student learning;
23 (d) A summary of comments received at one or more public hearings
24 on the proposal and how concerns will be addressed;
25 (e) Other information that the state board of education may request
26 to assure that the proposed four-day school week will not adversely
27 affect student learning.
28 (3) The state board of education shall adopt criteria to evaluate
29 waiver requests. Waivers may be granted for up to three years, and
30 districts may reapply to extend the waiver for an additional period.
31 However, all waivers expire August 31, 2015.
32 (4) The state board shall examine the waivers granted under this
33 section and make a recommendation to the education committees of the
34 legislature by December 15, 2014, regarding whether the waiver program
35 should be continued, modified, or allowed to terminate.
36 (5) This section expires August 31, 2015.
HB 1292
1
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.180 and 1995 c 208 s 1 are each amended to
2 read as follows:
3 (1) The state board of education, where appropriate, or the
4 superintendent of public instruction, where appropriate, may grant
5 waivers to districts from the provisions of statutes or rules relating
6 to: The length of the school year; student-to-teacher ratios; and
7 other administrative rules that in the opinion of the state board of
8 education or the opinion of the superintendent of public instruction
9 may need to be waived in order for a district to implement a plan for
10 restructuring its educational program or the educational program of
11 individual schools within the district.
12 (2) School districts may use the application process in RCW
13 28A.305.140 ((or 28A.300.138)) to apply for the waivers under
14 ((subsection (1) of)) this section.
15 (((3) The joint select committee on education restructuring shall
16 study which waivers of state laws or rules are necessary for school
17 districts to implement education restructuring. The committee shall
18 study whether the waivers are used to implement specific essential
19 academic learning requirements and student learning goals. The
20 committee shall study the availability of waivers under the schools for
21 the twenty-first century program created by chapter 525, Laws of 1987,
22 and the use of those waivers by schools participating in that program.
23 The committee shall also study the use of waivers authorized under RCW
24 28A.305.140. The committee shall report its findings to the
25 legislature by December 1, 1997.))
26
H-2169.1 _____________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE Bof Washington 61st Legislature 2009 Regular Session
By
House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Newhouse,
Chandler, and Simpson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/20/09.
1 AN ACT Relating to waivers from the one hundred eighty-day school
2 year; amending RCW 28A.655.180; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305
3 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.305.145; and providing
4 an expiration date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 1. The legislature finds that school districts
7 are seeking innovations to reduce operating costs and preserve limited
8 resources for the primary purpose of student learning. Efficiencies in
9 transportation, heat, lights, maintenance, and food expenses are
10 possible from operating for four rather than five days per week, but
11 current law poses a barrier to this innovation by requiring a set
12 number of instructional days in each school year. Current waiver
13 processes do not allow consideration of economies and efficiencies as
14 a justification for a waiver. School districts in several western
15 states have operated on a four-day school week and report increased
16 efficiencies, family support, reduced absenteeism, and no negative
17 impact on student learning. Small rural school districts in particular
18 could benefit due to their high per-pupil costs for transportation and
19 utilities. Therefore, the legislature intends to permit school
p. 1
1 districts with under five hundred students to seek waivers from the
2 school year requirement in order to operate on a four-day school week,
3 provided that adequate safeguards are put in place to prevent any
4 negative impact on student learning.
5 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305
6 RCW to read as follows:
7 (1) In addition to waivers authorized under RCW 28A.305.140 and
8 28A.655.180, the state board of education may grant waivers from the
9 requirement for a one hundred eighty-day school year under RCW
10 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.250 to school districts with under five hundred
11 students that propose to operate one or more schools on a four-day
12 school week for purposes of economy and efficiency as provided in this
13 section. The requirement under RCW 28A.150.220 that school districts
14 offer an annual average instructional hour offering of at least one
15 thousand hours shall not be waived.
16 (2) A school district seeking a waiver under this section must
17 submit an application that includes:
18 (a) A proposed calendar for the school day and school year that
19 demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be maintained;
20 (b) An explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies
21 to be gained from compressing the instructional hours into fewer than
22 one hundred eighty days;
23 (c) An explanation of how monetary savings from the proposal will
24 be redirected to support student learning;
25 (d) A summary of comments received at one or more public hearings
26 on the proposal and how concerns will be addressed;
27 (e) Other information that the state board of education may request
28 to assure that the proposed four-day school week will not adversely
29 affect student learning.
30 (3) The state board of education shall adopt criteria to evaluate
31 waiver requests. No more than five districts may be granted waivers.
32 Waivers may be granted for up to three years, and districts may reapply
33 to extend the waiver for an additional period. However, all waivers
34 expire August 31, 2015.
35 (4) The state board shall examine the waivers granted under this
36 section and make a recommendation to the education committees of the
SHB 1292
1 legislature by December 15, 2014, regarding whether the waiver program
2 should be continued, modified, or allowed to terminate.
3 (5) This section expires August 31, 2015.
4
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.180 and 1995 c 208 s 1 are each amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (1) The state board of education, where appropriate, or the
7 superintendent of public instruction, where appropriate, may grant
8 waivers to districts from the provisions of statutes or rules relating
9 to: The length of the school year; student-to-teacher ratios; and
10 other administrative rules that in the opinion of the state board of
11 education or the opinion of the superintendent of public instruction
12 may need to be waived in order for a district to implement a plan for
13 restructuring its educational program or the educational program of
14 individual schools within the district.
15 (2) School districts may use the application process in RCW
16 28A.305.140 ((or 28A.300.138)) to apply for the waivers under
17 ((subsection (1) of)) this section.
18 (((3) The joint select committee on education restructuring shall
19 study which waivers of state laws or rules are necessary for school
20 districts to implement education restructuring. The committee shall
21 study whether the waivers are used to implement specific essential
22 academic learning requirements and student learning goals. The
23 committee shall study the availability of waivers under the schools for
24 the twenty-first century program created by chapter 525, Laws of 1987,
25 and the use of those waivers by schools participating in that program.
26 The committee shall also study the use of waivers authorized under RCW
27 28A.305.140. The committee shall report its findings to the
28 legislature by December 1, 1997.))
29 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.305.145 (Application process for
30 waivers under RCW 28A.305.140) and 1993 c 336 s 302 are each repealed.
--- END ---p. 3
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.305.145 (Application process
The Four-Day School Week
The vast majority of the nation's schools operate on a five day school week. It is estimated,
however, that about 100 school districts in 17 states have implemented a four-day school week.
Most of these are small school districts in rural, sparsely populated areas in which the students
face long commutes. In the 1970's during the energy crisis, New Mexico became the first state
to allow a four-day school week. Today, there are four-day school weeks in at least some
schools in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, South Dakota,
Wisconsin, Wyoming, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska
The decision to go to a four-day school week has generally been predicated on grounds of
efficiency and economy. It has been estimated that if school buildings are actually closed on the
fifth day, savings of up to 20% can be realized with respect to expenses such as fuel, food,
untittles,and perhaps the wages of hourly workers.If the buildings remain open,savings are less.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges
Savings on fuel, food, utilities,
and the salaries of workers
Longer blocks of time available to
complete lessons such as science
labs
Use of the unscheduled day for
professional development,
planning, tutoring, special
programs, or to make up lost days
due to inclement weather or other
disruptions to the regular schedule
District's use of the scheduled day
to plan athletic events, limiting
disruptions to normal instructional
time
Students (particularly in sparsely
populated areas) having fewer
long commutes
Lower absenteeism of students
and teachers
Collective bargaining
Unpopularity of reduced salaries
for cafeteria workers and bus
drivers
Child care and supervision of
students on the unscheduled day
Length of day for younger
students, particularly when long
commutes are involved
The extended focus required of
students during the longer day
Student safety during winter
months when daylight hours are
fewer
Twenty percent more instructional
time lost when a student or
teacher misses a day
Impact on extracurricular activitiess and their schedules.
Summary of Bill: The SBE may grant waivers from the requirement for a 180 day school
year to school districts with under 500 students that propose to operate one or more schools
on a four day school week for purposes of economy and efficiency. In applying for the
waiver, school districts must submit:
a proposed calendar that demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be
maintained;
an explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies to be gained;
an explanation for how the monetary savings will be redirected to support student
learning;
a summary of comments from public hearings on the proposal; and
––––––––––––––––––––––
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative
members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it
constitute a statement of legislative intent.
H-0552.1 _____________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1292
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 61st Legislature 2009 Regular Session
By
Representatives Newhouse, Chandler, and Simpson
Read first time 01/16/09. Referred to Committee on Education.
1 AN ACT Relating to waivers from the one hundred eighty-day school
2 year; amending RCW 28A.655.180; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305
3 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.305.145; and providing
4 an expiration date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 1. The legislature finds that school districts
7 are seeking innovations to reduce operating costs and preserve limited
8 resources for the primary purpose of student learning. Efficiencies in
9 transportation, heat, lights, maintenance, and food expenses are
10 possible from operating for four rather than five days per week, but
11 current law poses a barrier to this innovation by requiring a set
12 number of instructional days in each school year. Current waiver
13 processes do not allow consideration of economies and efficiencies as
14 a justification for a waiver. School districts in several western
15 states have operated on a four-day school week and report increased
16 efficiencies, family support, reduced absenteeism, and no negative
17 impact on student learning. Small rural school districts in particular
18 could benefit due to their high per-pupil costs for transportation and
19 utilities. Therefore, the legislature intends to permit school
p. 1
School Day and Hour Requirements
A school district's basic educational program must consist of a minimum of 180 school days per
school year in such grades from 1 through 12 as are offered by the district. For kindergarten, a
district must offer 180 half-days or its equivalent of instruction. Hourly instructional
requirements are also set in law, at least 450 hours for kindergarten and a district-wide annual
average of 1000 hours for grades 1 through 12
1 districts to seek waivers from the school year requirement in order to
2 operate on a four-day school week, provided that adequate safeguards
3 are put in place to prevent any negative impact on student learning.
4 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305
5 RCW to read as follows:
6 (1) In addition to waivers authorized under RCW 28A.305.140 and
7 28A.655.180, the state board of education may grant waivers from the
8 requirement for a one hundred eighty-day school year under RCW
9 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.250 to school districts that propose to operate
10 one or more schools on a four-day school week for purposes of economy
11 and efficiency as provided in this section. The requirement under RCW
12 28A.150.220 that school districts offer an annual average instructional
13 hour offering of at least one thousand hours shall not be waived.
14 (2) A school district seeking a waiver under this section must
15 submit an application that includes:
16 (a) A proposed calendar for the school day and school year that
17 demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be maintained;
18 (b) An explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies
19 to be gained from compressing the instructional hours into fewer than
20 one hundred eighty days;
21 (c) An explanation of how monetary savings from the proposal will
22 be redirected to support student learning;
23 (d) A summary of comments received at one or more public hearings
24 on the proposal and how concerns will be addressed;
25 (e) Other information that the state board of education may request
26 to assure that the proposed four-day school week will not adversely
27 affect student learning.
28 (3) The state board of education shall adopt criteria to evaluate
29 waiver requests. Waivers may be granted for up to three years, and
30 districts may reapply to extend the waiver for an additional period.
31 However, all waivers expire August 31, 2015.
32 (4) The state board shall examine the waivers granted under this
33 section and make a recommendation to the education committees of the
34 legislature by December 15, 2014, regarding whether the waiver program
35 should be continued, modified, or allowed to terminate.
36 (5) This section expires August 31, 2015.
HB 1292
1
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.180 and 1995 c 208 s 1 are each amended to
2 read as follows:
3 (1) The state board of education, where appropriate, or the
4 superintendent of public instruction, where appropriate, may grant
5 waivers to districts from the provisions of statutes or rules relating
6 to: The length of the school year; student-to-teacher ratios; and
7 other administrative rules that in the opinion of the state board of
8 education or the opinion of the superintendent of public instruction
9 may need to be waived in order for a district to implement a plan for
10 restructuring its educational program or the educational program of
11 individual schools within the district.
12 (2) School districts may use the application process in RCW
13 28A.305.140 ((or 28A.300.138)) to apply for the waivers under
14 ((subsection (1) of)) this section.
15 (((3) The joint select committee on education restructuring shall
16 study which waivers of state laws or rules are necessary for school
17 districts to implement education restructuring. The committee shall
18 study whether the waivers are used to implement specific essential
19 academic learning requirements and student learning goals. The
20 committee shall study the availability of waivers under the schools for
21 the twenty-first century program created by chapter 525, Laws of 1987,
22 and the use of those waivers by schools participating in that program.
23 The committee shall also study the use of waivers authorized under RCW
24 28A.305.140. The committee shall report its findings to the
25 legislature by December 1, 1997.))
26
H-2169.1 _____________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE Bof Washington 61st Legislature 2009 Regular Session
By
House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Newhouse,
Chandler, and Simpson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/20/09.
1 AN ACT Relating to waivers from the one hundred eighty-day school
2 year; amending RCW 28A.655.180; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305
3 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.305.145; and providing
4 an expiration date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 1. The legislature finds that school districts
7 are seeking innovations to reduce operating costs and preserve limited
8 resources for the primary purpose of student learning. Efficiencies in
9 transportation, heat, lights, maintenance, and food expenses are
10 possible from operating for four rather than five days per week, but
11 current law poses a barrier to this innovation by requiring a set
12 number of instructional days in each school year. Current waiver
13 processes do not allow consideration of economies and efficiencies as
14 a justification for a waiver. School districts in several western
15 states have operated on a four-day school week and report increased
16 efficiencies, family support, reduced absenteeism, and no negative
17 impact on student learning. Small rural school districts in particular
18 could benefit due to their high per-pupil costs for transportation and
19 utilities. Therefore, the legislature intends to permit school
p. 1
1 districts with under five hundred students to seek waivers from the
2 school year requirement in order to operate on a four-day school week,
3 provided that adequate safeguards are put in place to prevent any
4 negative impact on student learning.
5 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305
6 RCW to read as follows:
7 (1) In addition to waivers authorized under RCW 28A.305.140 and
8 28A.655.180, the state board of education may grant waivers from the
9 requirement for a one hundred eighty-day school year under RCW
10 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.250 to school districts with under five hundred
11 students that propose to operate one or more schools on a four-day
12 school week for purposes of economy and efficiency as provided in this
13 section. The requirement under RCW 28A.150.220 that school districts
14 offer an annual average instructional hour offering of at least one
15 thousand hours shall not be waived.
16 (2) A school district seeking a waiver under this section must
17 submit an application that includes:
18 (a) A proposed calendar for the school day and school year that
19 demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be maintained;
20 (b) An explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies
21 to be gained from compressing the instructional hours into fewer than
22 one hundred eighty days;
23 (c) An explanation of how monetary savings from the proposal will
24 be redirected to support student learning;
25 (d) A summary of comments received at one or more public hearings
26 on the proposal and how concerns will be addressed;
27 (e) Other information that the state board of education may request
28 to assure that the proposed four-day school week will not adversely
29 affect student learning.
30 (3) The state board of education shall adopt criteria to evaluate
31 waiver requests. No more than five districts may be granted waivers.
32 Waivers may be granted for up to three years, and districts may reapply
33 to extend the waiver for an additional period. However, all waivers
34 expire August 31, 2015.
35 (4) The state board shall examine the waivers granted under this
36 section and make a recommendation to the education committees of the
SHB 1292
1 legislature by December 15, 2014, regarding whether the waiver program
2 should be continued, modified, or allowed to terminate.
3 (5) This section expires August 31, 2015.
4
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.180 and 1995 c 208 s 1 are each amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (1) The state board of education, where appropriate, or the
7 superintendent of public instruction, where appropriate, may grant
8 waivers to districts from the provisions of statutes or rules relating
9 to: The length of the school year; student-to-teacher ratios; and
10 other administrative rules that in the opinion of the state board of
11 education or the opinion of the superintendent of public instruction
12 may need to be waived in order for a district to implement a plan for
13 restructuring its educational program or the educational program of
14 individual schools within the district.
15 (2) School districts may use the application process in RCW
16 28A.305.140 ((or 28A.300.138)) to apply for the waivers under
17 ((subsection (1) of)) this section.
18 (((3) The joint select committee on education restructuring shall
19 study which waivers of state laws or rules are necessary for school
20 districts to implement education restructuring. The committee shall
21 study whether the waivers are used to implement specific essential
22 academic learning requirements and student learning goals. The
23 committee shall study the availability of waivers under the schools for
24 the twenty-first century program created by chapter 525, Laws of 1987,
25 and the use of those waivers by schools participating in that program.
26 The committee shall also study the use of waivers authorized under RCW
27 28A.305.140. The committee shall report its findings to the
28 legislature by December 1, 1997.))
29 NEW SECTION.
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.305.145 (Application process for
30 waivers under RCW 28A.305.140) and 1993 c 336 s 302 are each repealed.
--- END ---p. 3
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.305.145 (Application process
The Four-Day School Week
The vast majority of the nation's schools operate on a five day school week. It is estimated,
however, that about 100 school districts in 17 states have implemented a four-day school week.
Most of these are small school districts in rural, sparsely populated areas in which the students
face long commutes. In the 1970's during the energy crisis, New Mexico became the first state
to allow a four-day school week. Today, there are four-day school weeks in at least some
schools in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, South Dakota,
Wisconsin, Wyoming, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska
The decision to go to a four-day school week has generally been predicated on grounds of
efficiency and economy. It has been estimated that if school buildings are actually closed on the
fifth day, savings of up to 20% can be realized with respect to expenses such as fuel, food,
untittles,and perhaps the wages of hourly workers.If the buildings remain open,savings are less.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges
Savings on fuel, food, utilities,
and the salaries of workers
Longer blocks of time available to
complete lessons such as science
labs
Use of the unscheduled day for
professional development,
planning, tutoring, special
programs, or to make up lost days
due to inclement weather or other
disruptions to the regular schedule
District's use of the scheduled day
to plan athletic events, limiting
disruptions to normal instructional
time
Students (particularly in sparsely
populated areas) having fewer
long commutes
Lower absenteeism of students
and teachers
Collective bargaining
Unpopularity of reduced salaries
for cafeteria workers and bus
drivers
Child care and supervision of
students on the unscheduled day
Length of day for younger
students, particularly when long
commutes are involved
The extended focus required of
students during the longer day
Student safety during winter
months when daylight hours are
fewer
Twenty percent more instructional
time lost when a student or
teacher misses a day
Impact on extracurricular activitiess and their schedules.
Summary of Bill: The SBE may grant waivers from the requirement for a 180 day school
year to school districts with under 500 students that propose to operate one or more schools
on a four day school week for purposes of economy and efficiency. In applying for the
waiver, school districts must submit:
a proposed calendar that demonstrates how the instructional hour requirement will be
maintained;
an explanation and estimate of the economies and efficiencies to be gained;
an explanation for how the monetary savings will be redirected to support student
learning;
a summary of comments from public hearings on the proposal; and
––––––––––––––––––––––
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative
members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it
constitute a statement of legislative intent.
Tampa Florida say what???
Hmm..... George Bush's brother has something to say about our little discussion...
TAMPA, Fla. — With the nation's school districts strapped for cash, more are considering a schedule that delights students and makes working parents cringe: Class only four days a week.
By extending school hours and eliminating a day of classes each week, education officials say they could save busloads of money on transportation and utilities.
That's all fine by Layla Bahabri, a 10th-grader at South Florida's Charles W. Flanagan High School, who likes the idea of sleeping in and studying on the extra day off.
"We could catch up on whatever we want to do," she said.
Introduced by New Mexico during the 1970s oil crisis, the abbreviated school week is gaining fresh momentum in states and districts hurt by the economic downturn. Select districts in about 17 states already follow a four-day week and legislators in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Missouri and Washington have introduced similar proposals.
"It's happening primarily because of the economic situation," said Gale Gaines, vice president for state services at the Southern Regional Education Board. "Schools and districts are trying to work as efficiently as possible."
While there's still debate about how much districts will save, proponents say the shortened week can improve attendance and teacher retention. As for academics, studies have shown the four-day schedule does not hinder student achievement, and may even help improve test scores.
Some districts have even reported fewer disciplinary referrals and more classroom participation.
"It's hard to get to the why, of course, because so many things affect student achievement," said Andrea D. Beesley of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning in Denver.
State laws govern how many days students must attend class each year. In places where four-day weeks are allowed, districts are required to hold an equivalent number of instructional hours. That typically means adding just over an hour of class each day.
Critics worry, however, about burdening working parents with extra child care costs, and question whether students — especially younger ones in elementary school — can handle a longer school day without getting tired.
Since the early 1970s, the four-day school week has primarily been adopted by small, rural districts that shuttle students long distances. By cutting one school day a week, they were able to save on transportation, food and utility costs. The actual amount saved has varied by district.
Schools in Cimarron, N.M., about 170 miles northeast of Santa Fe, made the switch more than three decades ago. It started as a way to save on fuel and heating costs, but soon yielded other benefits, too.
Superintendent James Gallegos said about 85 percent of the district's athletic events are scheduled on Fridays, so a Monday-Thursday school week means fewer Friday absences as students and teachers prepare for or travel to games. Gallegos estimates the district has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in transportation costs and said it's been a stellar teacher recruitment tool.
"It kind of gives us a little bit of an advantage in terms of hiring into rural areas," he said.
The idea has especially taken hold in the Mountain states; in Colorado alone, about 60 districts are on a four-day school week this year. A 2006 Colorado Department of Education report on the four-day week said the initial reason for making the switch has generally been financial.
In Oregon's Corbett School District, which moved to the four-day week more than a decade ago, Superintendent Bob Dunton said the schedule had become "business as usual," popular among parents and students alike.
"It has been a really great experience for the kids," said Michelle Rolens, who has two sons at Corbett Elementary. "Even though they go longer days for four days, they love having that extra day off. It's a great opportunity that they can get their homework done but still have the whole weekend that we can do things as a family."
Rolens said kindergartners get a rest time to make it through the longer day, and her sons get an extra recess.
"I would say that they are not as restless by the end of the week," she said.
These days, rural districts aren't the only one considering the switch.
In South Florida, the Broward County school district, just north of Miami, is considering the four-day week for its high schools. Broward, the sixth-largest school district in the nation, spends a whopping $63 million on electricity every year, Superintendent James Notter said.
With Florida schools expecting another round of budget cuts, Notter estimates a four-day week could save the district 10 to 15 percent in utilities.
Not all parents like the idea, though.
"My concern is that this is going to put, particularly in an economic downturn, an undue burden on parents scrambling for childcare or having to pay additional childcare," said Jeanne Jusevic, president of the Monarch High School PTA.
Others worry whether the high school students will use their free day wisely.
"That's the age kids are getting in trouble," said Ivonne Foulon, whose 16-year-old daughter is sophomore at West Broward High School.
Christine Gales, a Flanagan High senior, said she'd use the extra day to relax, but still prefers having a five-day week: "I'd probably lose interest since I'll be here longer and, like, I'll stop paying attention."
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn who introduced the bill that would grant schools flexibility in determining the number of days they hold class, said the current economy demands creative solutions.
"I don't think we've ever had such a tight and challenging economy in the state of Florida," said Lynn, a Republican.
But the bill faces an uphill battle. Education Commissioner Eric Smith said he favors a five-day week and the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union, is skeptical of the change.
"This is just another shortcut that is being explored instead of properly financing schools," said spokesman Mark Pudlow, who questioned the impact of a four-day week on learning.
Officials in districts that have four-day school weeks caution that it falls short of being a magic bullet for school budgets. Dunton, of the Oregon district, said that while there have been many benefits, financial savings haven't panned out like one might expect. For example, he said, even though a school may be without students, utilities must be kept on because it's still a gathering place for the community and athletic competitions.
"I hope people don't bank on it too much," he said.
TAMPA, Fla. — With the nation's school districts strapped for cash, more are considering a schedule that delights students and makes working parents cringe: Class only four days a week.
By extending school hours and eliminating a day of classes each week, education officials say they could save busloads of money on transportation and utilities.
That's all fine by Layla Bahabri, a 10th-grader at South Florida's Charles W. Flanagan High School, who likes the idea of sleeping in and studying on the extra day off.
"We could catch up on whatever we want to do," she said.
Introduced by New Mexico during the 1970s oil crisis, the abbreviated school week is gaining fresh momentum in states and districts hurt by the economic downturn. Select districts in about 17 states already follow a four-day week and legislators in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Missouri and Washington have introduced similar proposals.
"It's happening primarily because of the economic situation," said Gale Gaines, vice president for state services at the Southern Regional Education Board. "Schools and districts are trying to work as efficiently as possible."
While there's still debate about how much districts will save, proponents say the shortened week can improve attendance and teacher retention. As for academics, studies have shown the four-day schedule does not hinder student achievement, and may even help improve test scores.
Some districts have even reported fewer disciplinary referrals and more classroom participation.
"It's hard to get to the why, of course, because so many things affect student achievement," said Andrea D. Beesley of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning in Denver.
State laws govern how many days students must attend class each year. In places where four-day weeks are allowed, districts are required to hold an equivalent number of instructional hours. That typically means adding just over an hour of class each day.
Critics worry, however, about burdening working parents with extra child care costs, and question whether students — especially younger ones in elementary school — can handle a longer school day without getting tired.
Since the early 1970s, the four-day school week has primarily been adopted by small, rural districts that shuttle students long distances. By cutting one school day a week, they were able to save on transportation, food and utility costs. The actual amount saved has varied by district.
Schools in Cimarron, N.M., about 170 miles northeast of Santa Fe, made the switch more than three decades ago. It started as a way to save on fuel and heating costs, but soon yielded other benefits, too.
Superintendent James Gallegos said about 85 percent of the district's athletic events are scheduled on Fridays, so a Monday-Thursday school week means fewer Friday absences as students and teachers prepare for or travel to games. Gallegos estimates the district has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in transportation costs and said it's been a stellar teacher recruitment tool.
"It kind of gives us a little bit of an advantage in terms of hiring into rural areas," he said.
The idea has especially taken hold in the Mountain states; in Colorado alone, about 60 districts are on a four-day school week this year. A 2006 Colorado Department of Education report on the four-day week said the initial reason for making the switch has generally been financial.
In Oregon's Corbett School District, which moved to the four-day week more than a decade ago, Superintendent Bob Dunton said the schedule had become "business as usual," popular among parents and students alike.
"It has been a really great experience for the kids," said Michelle Rolens, who has two sons at Corbett Elementary. "Even though they go longer days for four days, they love having that extra day off. It's a great opportunity that they can get their homework done but still have the whole weekend that we can do things as a family."
Rolens said kindergartners get a rest time to make it through the longer day, and her sons get an extra recess.
"I would say that they are not as restless by the end of the week," she said.
These days, rural districts aren't the only one considering the switch.
In South Florida, the Broward County school district, just north of Miami, is considering the four-day week for its high schools. Broward, the sixth-largest school district in the nation, spends a whopping $63 million on electricity every year, Superintendent James Notter said.
With Florida schools expecting another round of budget cuts, Notter estimates a four-day week could save the district 10 to 15 percent in utilities.
Not all parents like the idea, though.
"My concern is that this is going to put, particularly in an economic downturn, an undue burden on parents scrambling for childcare or having to pay additional childcare," said Jeanne Jusevic, president of the Monarch High School PTA.
Others worry whether the high school students will use their free day wisely.
"That's the age kids are getting in trouble," said Ivonne Foulon, whose 16-year-old daughter is sophomore at West Broward High School.
Christine Gales, a Flanagan High senior, said she'd use the extra day to relax, but still prefers having a five-day week: "I'd probably lose interest since I'll be here longer and, like, I'll stop paying attention."
Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn who introduced the bill that would grant schools flexibility in determining the number of days they hold class, said the current economy demands creative solutions.
"I don't think we've ever had such a tight and challenging economy in the state of Florida," said Lynn, a Republican.
But the bill faces an uphill battle. Education Commissioner Eric Smith said he favors a five-day week and the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union, is skeptical of the change.
"This is just another shortcut that is being explored instead of properly financing schools," said spokesman Mark Pudlow, who questioned the impact of a four-day week on learning.
Officials in districts that have four-day school weeks caution that it falls short of being a magic bullet for school budgets. Dunton, of the Oregon district, said that while there have been many benefits, financial savings haven't panned out like one might expect. For example, he said, even though a school may be without students, utilities must be kept on because it's still a gathering place for the community and athletic competitions.
"I hope people don't bank on it too much," he said.
Debate!
Hello felllow debaters! How is debate going ofr you all? My debate is doing great. I have lots of cool stuff for both negative and positive arguments. Here is some good evidence. It is positive.
Potential benefits, challenges of a 4-day school week
Bath County Board of Supervisors member Percy Nowlin presented the following information from the Southern Regional Education Board at a work session held by the supervisors and school board Oct. 29 concerning a four-day school week.
Nowlin is a former superintendent of Bath County Public Schools and is currently serving as interim superintendent of Highland County Public Schools. Potential benefits: • Savings on fuel, food, utilities and the salaries of some workers. • Longer blocks of time available to complete lessons such as science labs. • Use of the unscheduled day for professional development, tutoring, special programs, or to make up lost days due to inclement weather or other disruptions to the regular schedule. • District's use of the unscheduled day to plan athletic events, limiting disruptions to normal instructional time. • Students (particularly in sparsely populated areas) having fewer long commutes. • Lower absenteeism of students and teachers. • Fewer substitutes needed because teachers can schedule appointments on unscheduled days. • Students generally arriving home at the same time as their parents, diminishing the need for after-school child care and supervision. Potential challenges • Collective bargaining. (In Virginia, that would likely translate to legal issues on shortening teacher contracts.) • Unpopularity of reduced salaries for cafeteria workers and bus drivers. • Child care and supervision of students on the unscheduled day. • Length of day for young students, particularly when long commutes are involved. • The extended focus required of students during a longer day. • Students safety during winter months when daylight hours are fewer. • Twenty percent more instructional time lost when a student or teacher misses a day. • Impact on extra-curricular activities and their schedules. • Teacher preparation for the change in schedule to assure the maximum use of instructional time. • Difficulties with students (especially at-risk and special-needs students) retaining subject matter during the extra day off. • The need to run utilities during the unscheduled day to prevent mold due to heat and humidity, thereby offsetting savings. • The perception of "giving a day off," although instructional time is the same or greater.
Hope this helps!!!!!
Potential benefits, challenges of a 4-day school week
Bath County Board of Supervisors member Percy Nowlin presented the following information from the Southern Regional Education Board at a work session held by the supervisors and school board Oct. 29 concerning a four-day school week.
Nowlin is a former superintendent of Bath County Public Schools and is currently serving as interim superintendent of Highland County Public Schools. Potential benefits: • Savings on fuel, food, utilities and the salaries of some workers. • Longer blocks of time available to complete lessons such as science labs. • Use of the unscheduled day for professional development, tutoring, special programs, or to make up lost days due to inclement weather or other disruptions to the regular schedule. • District's use of the unscheduled day to plan athletic events, limiting disruptions to normal instructional time. • Students (particularly in sparsely populated areas) having fewer long commutes. • Lower absenteeism of students and teachers. • Fewer substitutes needed because teachers can schedule appointments on unscheduled days. • Students generally arriving home at the same time as their parents, diminishing the need for after-school child care and supervision. Potential challenges • Collective bargaining. (In Virginia, that would likely translate to legal issues on shortening teacher contracts.) • Unpopularity of reduced salaries for cafeteria workers and bus drivers. • Child care and supervision of students on the unscheduled day. • Length of day for young students, particularly when long commutes are involved. • The extended focus required of students during a longer day. • Students safety during winter months when daylight hours are fewer. • Twenty percent more instructional time lost when a student or teacher misses a day. • Impact on extra-curricular activities and their schedules. • Teacher preparation for the change in schedule to assure the maximum use of instructional time. • Difficulties with students (especially at-risk and special-needs students) retaining subject matter during the extra day off. • The need to run utilities during the unscheduled day to prevent mold due to heat and humidity, thereby offsetting savings. • The perception of "giving a day off," although instructional time is the same or greater.
Hope this helps!!!!!
4-Day School Week Article
Is four-day school week a possibility?
By Ann WorkSaturday, September 27, 2008
Would going to a four-day school week save you money?
When the economy teeters and energy prices skyrocket, it’s a natural question for educators and parents to roll over in their minds.
Some states have actually tried the four-day week and like it, according to an August 2008 report, “Focus on the School Calendar: The Four Day School Week,” by Gale F. Gaines of the Southern Regional Education Board.
But would it work in Texas? And would educators in Wichita Falls ever try it if some of the economic doomsday predictions actually occurred?
That’s about what it would take to make such a drastic change in scheduling, said Dr. Tim Powers, assistant superintendent for the Wichita Falls Independent School District.
“Ever is a big word. Nothing is ever off the table. It would have to be something pretty dramatic for us to go to a four-day week,” he said.
It would have to save WFISD money — big, he said.
The four-day school week is not a new issue, even though most school districts use a traditional school calendar, according to the SREB report.
STORY TOOLS
E-mail story
Comments
iPod friendly
Printer friendly
More Local News
Police: 19-year-old stabbed victim in neck
Agriboard still in planning stage
Crime Beat, April 27
Share and Enjoy [?]
addthis_pub = 'trnonline';
The first schools to try it were in New Mexico in the 1970s during an energy crisis, when gas and utility prices shot up. In 2003, a survey by the National School Boards Association showed that some districts in nine states used a four-day-per-week schedule: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Isolated schools in Louisiana and Arkansas also used a version of the four-day week.
Today, about 100 school districts in 17 states (those listed above plus California, Kentucky, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska and Utah) may be using the alternative schedule.
Most of the districts that have opted for the four-day school week are located in Colorado’s 67 districts or in New Mexico’s 17, and are small, rural communities where students face long commutes to school .
Schools that opted for the four-day weeks did so to save money. By shutting off utilities as though it were a holiday weekend, they could save as much as 20 percent, but one Kentucky county showed that its actual savings was closer to 3 percent.
In reality, most schools reported that they didn’t close on the fifth day. They used that day instead for extracurricular activities, tutoring, special programs and professional development.
Powers said that’s what he would expect WFISD to do if it adopted the four-day week. The fifth day would probably include tutoring, staff development or makeup time, but such activities would be contained to one building, say, instead of several to increase utility savings.
Little research exists on the four-day school week, the report stated. “There is a decided lack of evidence that the four-day week helps or hurts student achievement — anecdotal information seems to point merely to a ‘lack of harm’ where student achievement is concerned,” writes Gale F. Gaines for the SREB.
The list of pros and cons is long, he writes. Tops on the list of pros is financial savings, although the practice also seems to include increases in attendance rates of students and teachers. That, in turn, reduces the need to pay for substitute teachers. It also promotes fewer discipline problems and fewer hours spent commuting. The longer blocks of instruction time during those four days gives students more time to complete lessons, such as science labs.
On the con side: School surveys show teachers are challenged to keep students focused during the long days, students felt the impact on their extracurricular activities, and educators had to deal with the perception of “giving a day off,” even though instructional time was the same, at a time that national and state goals are mandating rising student achievement.
In Texas, the Texas Education Agency has no record of any district currently using a four-day week.
Any district that wanted to try it must be granted a waiver from the Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, according to the Texas Education Code.
“The code specifies that you have to have a minimum of 180 days of instruction. Your school district day has to be a minimum of seven hours,” said DeEtta Culbertson, TEA spokeswoman.
Some Texas school districts currently have a waiver, because of flooding by the recent hurricane.
But Scott denied a waiver to Lancaster Independent School District last year when it requested one to go to a four-day school week. “It was the timing on it” that Scott didn’t like, Culbertson said. “The school year had already started. There were questions about the legality of it on teacher contracts. The plan didn’t seem well thought out to him at the time.”
They had requested permission to use the four-day week immediately to save money and help them address some financial difficulties.
Several years ago, a small district near Abilene also requested a waiver but was denied, Culbertson said.
Colorado, however, had 34 percent of its school districts that served less than 3 percent of the state’s students that used the four-day school week during the 2007-08 school year. The largest district using it had 1,265 students; the smallest had eight.
Most were rural and sparsely populated. Some used it just during the winter months.
The State Department of Education staff said that the four-day week is popular with students, parents and teachers. It gives them more time for family activities, teachers use the fifth day for class preparation, and everyone enjoys the longer weekend break.
The issue of arranging child care was considered a “wash,” according to the report. “Students in school for the longer day often arrive home about the same time as their working parents. This diminished the ‘latchkey’ issue for older students and the need for after-school care for younger ones. Because schools are closed on the unscheduled day, more babysitters (such as high school students) are available, and communities have responded with services,” said the report.
Many rural families already have at least one parent in the home, it said.
Powers said the child care issue would be his first concern if WFISD ever adopted the four-day school week. “Whether we like it or not, education serves as a safe haven for students during the work week for parents,” he said. “They would have to find ways to care for their children on the fifth day of the work week.”
In Colorado, teachers had to adjust lesson plans to make the best use of the longer days and to minimize interruptions. Students — especially younger ones — had to adjust to the longer days. But everyone adapted, the report said.
Student performance was not hampered, according to the Colorado districts. “There are no conclusive studies on the impact. However, State Department of Education staff said that students do no worse than students on a traditional calendar,” according to the SREB report.
Education reporter Ann Work can be reached at (940) 763-7538 or by e-mail at worka(at)TimesRecordNews.com.
At a glance
Benefits to the four-day school week:
Savings on fuel, food, utilities and salaries of some workers.
Longer time blocks for lessons like science labs.
Special use of fifth day, like planning and tutoring.
Fewer commutes for students, teachers,
Lower absenteeism of students, teachers,
Fewer substitutes needed because teachers can schedule appointments on unscheduled days,
Students arrive home at the same time as their parents, diminishing the need for after-school child care,
Challenges to the four-day school week:
Unpopularity of reduced salaries for cafeteria workers and bus drivers.
Child care of students on nonschool day.
Long days for young students, added to long commutes.
Student safety during winter months when daylight hours are fewer.
Twenty percent more instructional time lost when a student or teacher misses a day.
Impact on extracurricular activities and their schedules.
Teacher preparation for the change in schedule.
The need to run utilities during the unscheduled day to prevent mold because of heat and humidity, which offsets savings.
The perception of “giving a day off,” even though instructional time is the same.
Source: SREB Report, “Focus on the School Calendar: The Four-Day School Week”
ctxt_ad_interface = 'http://cm.npc-scripps.overture.com/js_1_0/';
ctxt_ad_width = 420 ;
ctxt_ad_height = 150;
ctxt_ad_source = 'npc_scripps_timesrecordnews_t2_ctxt';
ctxt_ad_config = '7894763060';
ctxt_ad_id = 'news';
ctxt_ad_type = 'news';
ctxt_ad_url = window.location.href ;
ctxt_css_url = 'http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/yahoo/yahoo_cm.css' ;
Comments
There are 18 responses to this article. See what others are saying. Let your voice be heard!
Comments are meant to offer our readers a forum for thoughtful, robust debate about local issues.
Comments are moderated, but you may find the content of the conversations offensive, objectionable or factually disputable.
Click here to view our User Contribution Policy.
By Ann WorkSaturday, September 27, 2008
Would going to a four-day school week save you money?
When the economy teeters and energy prices skyrocket, it’s a natural question for educators and parents to roll over in their minds.
Some states have actually tried the four-day week and like it, according to an August 2008 report, “Focus on the School Calendar: The Four Day School Week,” by Gale F. Gaines of the Southern Regional Education Board.
But would it work in Texas? And would educators in Wichita Falls ever try it if some of the economic doomsday predictions actually occurred?
That’s about what it would take to make such a drastic change in scheduling, said Dr. Tim Powers, assistant superintendent for the Wichita Falls Independent School District.
“Ever is a big word. Nothing is ever off the table. It would have to be something pretty dramatic for us to go to a four-day week,” he said.
It would have to save WFISD money — big, he said.
The four-day school week is not a new issue, even though most school districts use a traditional school calendar, according to the SREB report.
STORY TOOLS
E-mail story
Comments
iPod friendly
Printer friendly
More Local News
Police: 19-year-old stabbed victim in neck
Agriboard still in planning stage
Crime Beat, April 27
Share and Enjoy [?]
addthis_pub = 'trnonline';
The first schools to try it were in New Mexico in the 1970s during an energy crisis, when gas and utility prices shot up. In 2003, a survey by the National School Boards Association showed that some districts in nine states used a four-day-per-week schedule: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Isolated schools in Louisiana and Arkansas also used a version of the four-day week.
Today, about 100 school districts in 17 states (those listed above plus California, Kentucky, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska and Utah) may be using the alternative schedule.
Most of the districts that have opted for the four-day school week are located in Colorado’s 67 districts or in New Mexico’s 17, and are small, rural communities where students face long commutes to school .
Schools that opted for the four-day weeks did so to save money. By shutting off utilities as though it were a holiday weekend, they could save as much as 20 percent, but one Kentucky county showed that its actual savings was closer to 3 percent.
In reality, most schools reported that they didn’t close on the fifth day. They used that day instead for extracurricular activities, tutoring, special programs and professional development.
Powers said that’s what he would expect WFISD to do if it adopted the four-day week. The fifth day would probably include tutoring, staff development or makeup time, but such activities would be contained to one building, say, instead of several to increase utility savings.
Little research exists on the four-day school week, the report stated. “There is a decided lack of evidence that the four-day week helps or hurts student achievement — anecdotal information seems to point merely to a ‘lack of harm’ where student achievement is concerned,” writes Gale F. Gaines for the SREB.
The list of pros and cons is long, he writes. Tops on the list of pros is financial savings, although the practice also seems to include increases in attendance rates of students and teachers. That, in turn, reduces the need to pay for substitute teachers. It also promotes fewer discipline problems and fewer hours spent commuting. The longer blocks of instruction time during those four days gives students more time to complete lessons, such as science labs.
On the con side: School surveys show teachers are challenged to keep students focused during the long days, students felt the impact on their extracurricular activities, and educators had to deal with the perception of “giving a day off,” even though instructional time was the same, at a time that national and state goals are mandating rising student achievement.
In Texas, the Texas Education Agency has no record of any district currently using a four-day week.
Any district that wanted to try it must be granted a waiver from the Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, according to the Texas Education Code.
“The code specifies that you have to have a minimum of 180 days of instruction. Your school district day has to be a minimum of seven hours,” said DeEtta Culbertson, TEA spokeswoman.
Some Texas school districts currently have a waiver, because of flooding by the recent hurricane.
But Scott denied a waiver to Lancaster Independent School District last year when it requested one to go to a four-day school week. “It was the timing on it” that Scott didn’t like, Culbertson said. “The school year had already started. There were questions about the legality of it on teacher contracts. The plan didn’t seem well thought out to him at the time.”
They had requested permission to use the four-day week immediately to save money and help them address some financial difficulties.
Several years ago, a small district near Abilene also requested a waiver but was denied, Culbertson said.
Colorado, however, had 34 percent of its school districts that served less than 3 percent of the state’s students that used the four-day school week during the 2007-08 school year. The largest district using it had 1,265 students; the smallest had eight.
Most were rural and sparsely populated. Some used it just during the winter months.
The State Department of Education staff said that the four-day week is popular with students, parents and teachers. It gives them more time for family activities, teachers use the fifth day for class preparation, and everyone enjoys the longer weekend break.
The issue of arranging child care was considered a “wash,” according to the report. “Students in school for the longer day often arrive home about the same time as their working parents. This diminished the ‘latchkey’ issue for older students and the need for after-school care for younger ones. Because schools are closed on the unscheduled day, more babysitters (such as high school students) are available, and communities have responded with services,” said the report.
Many rural families already have at least one parent in the home, it said.
Powers said the child care issue would be his first concern if WFISD ever adopted the four-day school week. “Whether we like it or not, education serves as a safe haven for students during the work week for parents,” he said. “They would have to find ways to care for their children on the fifth day of the work week.”
In Colorado, teachers had to adjust lesson plans to make the best use of the longer days and to minimize interruptions. Students — especially younger ones — had to adjust to the longer days. But everyone adapted, the report said.
Student performance was not hampered, according to the Colorado districts. “There are no conclusive studies on the impact. However, State Department of Education staff said that students do no worse than students on a traditional calendar,” according to the SREB report.
Education reporter Ann Work can be reached at (940) 763-7538 or by e-mail at worka(at)TimesRecordNews.com.
At a glance
Benefits to the four-day school week:
Savings on fuel, food, utilities and salaries of some workers.
Longer time blocks for lessons like science labs.
Special use of fifth day, like planning and tutoring.
Fewer commutes for students, teachers,
Lower absenteeism of students, teachers,
Fewer substitutes needed because teachers can schedule appointments on unscheduled days,
Students arrive home at the same time as their parents, diminishing the need for after-school child care,
Challenges to the four-day school week:
Unpopularity of reduced salaries for cafeteria workers and bus drivers.
Child care of students on nonschool day.
Long days for young students, added to long commutes.
Student safety during winter months when daylight hours are fewer.
Twenty percent more instructional time lost when a student or teacher misses a day.
Impact on extracurricular activities and their schedules.
Teacher preparation for the change in schedule.
The need to run utilities during the unscheduled day to prevent mold because of heat and humidity, which offsets savings.
The perception of “giving a day off,” even though instructional time is the same.
Source: SREB Report, “Focus on the School Calendar: The Four-Day School Week”
ctxt_ad_interface = 'http://cm.npc-scripps.overture.com/js_1_0/';
ctxt_ad_width = 420 ;
ctxt_ad_height = 150;
ctxt_ad_source = 'npc_scripps_timesrecordnews_t2_ctxt';
ctxt_ad_config = '7894763060';
ctxt_ad_id = 'news';
ctxt_ad_type = 'news';
ctxt_ad_url = window.location.href ;
ctxt_css_url = 'http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/yahoo/yahoo_cm.css' ;
Comments
There are 18 responses to this article. See what others are saying. Let your voice be heard!
Comments are meant to offer our readers a forum for thoughtful, robust debate about local issues.
Comments are moderated, but you may find the content of the conversations offensive, objectionable or factually disputable.
Click here to view our User Contribution Policy.
With the economy taking a toll on school budgets, this may very well be the way to go in order to cut back on transportation and utility spending. Many high school students say that they would not mind having a three-day weekend because they could use the extra time to sleep in, study and catch up on school assignments. Some teachers feel that they could also benefit from a shorter week, as this would allow them to catch up on some grading and planning. However, parents seem to be having a hard time agreeing with the school's alternative solution to sever eliminate their financial woes.
This is from: Alexandra Rose Long (Alli)
Hi guys,
I found a really good article about childcare issues plus pros and cons of a four day school week.
It is more of an overview than specific information.
Here it is:
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Four-Day School Week
What's It All About?
The motivating force behind a school changing to a four-day week is quite different than that which causes a school to adopt a block schedule. Faced with dwindling financial resources and declining enrollments, many small school districts have adopted a four-day school schedule (Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Koki, 1992; School Fits, 1983; Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983; Blankenship, 1984). By extending the time spent in school for four days, (by approximately 25 percent or 75 minutes per day) they are able to close the school on the fifth. Instead of cutting art, music, or other activities that often fall prey to budgetary shortfalls, the four-day week gives schools the opportunity to preserve these classes and still save money. Generally schools that use a four-day week are small, rural schools. In the Northwest, Oregon is the only state with schools using a four-day schedule. More than a dozen districts there currently observe a four-day week. Other states, including Washington, Idaho, and Montana do not have legislation that permits four-day week schedules.
Most often, schools that switch to a four-day week take either Friday or Monday off. Those choosing to close on Friday say that it is best because such a large portion of the student population misses school due to athletic events and other activities on this day. Those choosing to close school on Monday do so because gymnasiums often have to be lit and heated for Friday athletic events and activities, whereas few such activities occur on Mondays (Blankenship, 1984). Regardless of which day schools close, the decision to switch to a four-day week should be "based on clearly defined purposes and a recognition of both costs and benefits" (Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of a Four-Day Week?
Though financially motivated, most schools that adopt a four-day week have serendipitously discovered numerous benefits they didn't quite expect. Following is a list of the advantages of the four-day week that many schools have encountered for students, teachers, and the school in general.
Students and Teachers:
Student drop-out rates decline (Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
Student disciplinary referrals decrease (Koki, 1992).
Student achievement is generally not affected either positively or negatively (Nelson, 1983; Daly & Richburg, 1984).
Student and teacher attendance improves (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Students and teachers benefit from less interrupted class time as a result of longer class periods and fewer transitions at all grade levels. This increases the efficiency of instruction (Blankenship, 1984; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
Students and teachers share more positive attitudes about school. Consequently, there is a marked improvement in school morale (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
School faculty has more time for quality staff development (often the day off is used for this purpose) (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
There is more time for participation in extracurricular activities and for personal business, such as doctor appointments (Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
The School in General:
Has significant savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses, and building wear and tear (Blankenship, 1984; Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Can make up school days missed due to inclement weather on what would have been the fifth school day instead of at the end of the school year (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
Experiences fewer distractions; learning is less broken up by athletic events or other school activities (Blankenship, 1984; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
What Are the Concerns?
Weighing both the advantages and the possible disadvantages of any new scheduling format is critical to making an informed decision. Some of the concerns associated with the four-day week that are important to note include:
Child care issues: While some parents like the four-day week because they prefer having to find good child care one day a week, others dislike it for the very same reason and prefer to arrange for child care in smaller increments of time. Some schools have alleviated this concern by using high school students as baby-sitters for those in need (Blankenship, 1984).
Primary-aged students: There is often concern as to how young students will respond to such a long school day. As a result, many schools structure the day so the afternoon is composed of less academic work than the morning, thus allowing students to have some "down time" (Blankenship, 1984).
At-risk students: Some teachers feel that at-risk and special-needs students may have retention difficulties with an extra day off each week (Blankenship, 1984; Culbertson, 1982).
School reform movement: Some educators are concerned that the four-day week may appear to be inconsistent with the new emphasis for more time in school (Blankenship, 1984).
The four-day week will take more of a local community commitment than other schedule options as it can affect daily community routines as well as the childrens'.
Implementation Ideas
When contemplating the decision to move to a four-day week, keep in mind that it is a multistep process. Some suggested steps for implementation are:
Become as familiar with the concepts and implications of a four-day week as possible. Read research and case studies. Talk to other administrators and teachers using this schedule.
Survey the staff; they must be involved in the decision making process. If they aren't in favor of a four-day schedule, it will be difficult to proceed (Litke, 1994).
Get the endorsement of the students, parents, and community in addition to approval from teachers and administration, since this change will affect all of them as well (Litke, 1994).
Design the schedule to accommodate the needs of teachers and students. Make sure all changes stay within accreditation guidelines and teachers' contract requirements.
Some restructuring and repacing of the curriculum will be necessary. Involve school staff; this will give them ownership of the process and also help them to feel more ready for the change. Provide ample time for staff development (Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Featherstone, 1991).
Once the schedule is in place, monitor its effects frequently. Keep communication open between administrators, teachers, students, and parents.
Allow a sufficient trial period before making any final recommendations on the schedule (Blankenship, 1984).
If possible, use the day off as an opportunity to provide students in need with enrichment activities or additional instruction (Koki, 1992).
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Year-Round Education
What's It All About?
Communities are often motivated to select year-round calendars due to booming student enrollment and a lack of funding to construct new school buildings. Even though year-round education may seem like an educational innovation, it has actually been around for quite some time. At the beginning of this century, population centers such as New York and Baltimore were sites of year-round education programs. A shift in societal needs, coupled with a largely agrarian society, altered the school calendar and made it what it is today (White, 1995; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993). Because we are no longer bound to agrarian calendars, many educators now feel that rearranging or even extending the school year can increase opportunities and better achievement for all students (White, 1995). There are about a dozen districts divided among the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that have at least one school currently using a year-round/modified calendar, but it is not a widespread trend at this time.
To fully appreciate year-round education, it helps to understand some of the different formats it can accommodate. Generally, on a year-round calendar, students attend school for a prescribed length of time (this can be 45, 60, or 90 days), and then have a vacation, often referred to as an intercession. This break commonly lasts 15 days, but can be as long as 20, 30, or even 40 days. Some of the more common configurations are: 45 days on—15 days off, 60-15 (with most of July off), 60-20, and 90-30 (Serifs, 1990). Student tracks are another important aspect of year-round systems. Tracks are the groups students are divided into which share the same schedule rotation. A school can have up to four or possibly even more tracks, and as few as one, though it is the staggered rotation of multiple tracks that enable schools to combat overcrowding.
What are the Benefits of Year-Round Education?
Today, year-round scheduling is used largely to combat severe overcrowding as an alternative to expensive building plans that can cost taxpayers millions of dollars, though this is not always the case (Schnieder & Townley, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993). Some districts choose year-round calendars because of the benefits it has for students. As with other schedule changes, educators have found that there are numerous advantages associated with year-round calendars. The following list details the common benefits of year-round programs to students, teachers, and the community.
Students:
Benefit from a more continuous learning pattern, and a reduced need for review (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993; Morse, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Can benefit from optional remediation programs offered during intercessions as opposed to lengthy repetition during regular session that might put them behind other students. Intercessions can also provide a means for enrichment activities for all students (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993).
May have a marked improvement in their overall school performance, especially if they come from a home environ ment that does not reinforce school learning (Morse, 1992).
Often feel more enthusiastic and motivated about school (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Teachers:
Experience less burnout and fatigue, just as students do, as a result of the shorter instructional cycles (Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
Are absent from school less (Serifs, 1990; Goldman, 1990).
Spend less time reviewing material they have already taught.
Can earn extra income by teaching during the intercessions (Serifs, 1990; Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
The School and Community:
Save money by choosing the year-round model over new construction, and can increase the school capacity by 25 percent (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Experience less vandalism that can occur during long summer breaks (Serifs, 1990).
See less incidence of juvenile delinquency (Serifs, 1990).
What Are the Concerns?
Of the three scheduling alternatives discussed in this booklet, year-round schedules are probably the most challenging to implement. Saving money by maximizing school building utilization should not be the sole motivation behind adopting a year-round schedule (Glines, 1987). Implementing a year-round calendar is a complicated process that requires the commitment not only from school staff and students, but from parents and the community as well. The whole community surrounding a year-round school or district will be affected. In order for educators to convince parents and the community that a year-round model should be implemented, they will need to counter many old arguments about time in school and present logical, compelling reasons about the benefits of modifying the traditional school calendar (Dlugosh, 1994). Just as important as knowing the benefits, however, is knowing about possible difficulties. Educators must be fully aware of the complications often associated with year-round scheduling in order to communicate effectively with the community and to create a successful program. Some of these are outlined in the following list:
The initial cost of setting up a year-round program may be high. Renovations, such as extra storage and air conditioning, are a must in order for the program to run smoothly (Serifs, 1990).
Some of the savings resulting from year-round programs will be offset by increased district costs, such as more school office staff or additional teaching staff (Serifs, 1990).
There will be less time for large-scale cleaning and maintenance (Serifs, 1990).
There will be more wear and tear on the building (Serifs, 1990).
The scheduling process itself is quite complex and will need careful management (Goldman, 1990).
Unless the school is using a single track plan, every school function that occurs, including parent conferences, faculty meetings, and open houses, will have to be done more than once because one segment of the school population will always be gone (Goldman, 1990; Moore, 1992).
Careful coordination with district specialist services (i.e., speech therapists, occupational therapists, or other consultants) will be necessary, as most of them do not normally work with students over the summer (Moore, 1992).
Parents may become frustrated if their children do not have common vacation times (Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Multiple-track systems require extensive packing between sessions as classrooms are often shared (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Continuing education coursework may be difficult for teachers to pursue.
Implementation Ideas
Because of the complexity of implementing a year-round schedule, it is important to be aware of several suggested steps. They are as follows:
Become familiar with research and information on year-round calendars. Visit other year-round schools. Find out as much as possible about the pros and cons, and how these relate to current district needs.
Involve all local education stakeholders in the decision making process. This should include teachers, students, parents, classified staff, and the community. Keeping them informed throughout the process will minimize conflict (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993; Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
Remember that it is most critical to have the support of teachers; if they are not in favor of the decision, there is little probability that it will be successful (Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
When designing the actual schedule, consider the following (White, 1995):
The configuration of the calendar; will it be 45-15, 60-15, or something else?
The number of student tracks that will work best with the chosen configuration
The number of holidays during the year
The unique needs of the school and community; build a schedule that best suits them
Provide ample time for staff development. The year-round schedule will require extensive changes in everything from facilities logistics to the pacing of classes (Serifs, 1990).
Be prepared to deal with curricula concerns such as course sequencing and continuity, and student remediation and enrichment (Serifs, 1990).
If possible, make the program voluntary during its initial stages. Also, let parents have a say in what track their children will be in; give them as many choices as possible (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993).
Assure that the new schedule is in line with accreditation and teacher contract requirements.
Monitor the program continuously; be flexible and attentive to the needs of all involved.
Do not rush implementation and do not make any hasty evaluations. Accurate assessment of the program will take time (Serifs, 1990).
This document's URL is: http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article5.html
© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001 Email WebmasterTel. 503.275.9500
This document's URL is: http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article4.html
© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001 Email WebmasterTel. 503.275.9500
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
The Northwest Sampler
Several schools' alternative methods of scheduling are described on the following pages. They are located in the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. These programs are just a few of the many excellent ones found in the region and throughout the country. The programs vary widely in scope. Some have been in existence for several years, while others are fledgling efforts. Included for each site is location and contact information, observed outcomes as a result of the scheduling, a description of the program, and tips directly from these educators for others looking to implement similar changes in their schools.
Posted by: Alli Long
I found a really good article about childcare issues plus pros and cons of a four day school week.
It is more of an overview than specific information.
Here it is:
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Four-Day School Week
What's It All About?
The motivating force behind a school changing to a four-day week is quite different than that which causes a school to adopt a block schedule. Faced with dwindling financial resources and declining enrollments, many small school districts have adopted a four-day school schedule (Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Koki, 1992; School Fits, 1983; Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983; Blankenship, 1984). By extending the time spent in school for four days, (by approximately 25 percent or 75 minutes per day) they are able to close the school on the fifth. Instead of cutting art, music, or other activities that often fall prey to budgetary shortfalls, the four-day week gives schools the opportunity to preserve these classes and still save money. Generally schools that use a four-day week are small, rural schools. In the Northwest, Oregon is the only state with schools using a four-day schedule. More than a dozen districts there currently observe a four-day week. Other states, including Washington, Idaho, and Montana do not have legislation that permits four-day week schedules.
Most often, schools that switch to a four-day week take either Friday or Monday off. Those choosing to close on Friday say that it is best because such a large portion of the student population misses school due to athletic events and other activities on this day. Those choosing to close school on Monday do so because gymnasiums often have to be lit and heated for Friday athletic events and activities, whereas few such activities occur on Mondays (Blankenship, 1984). Regardless of which day schools close, the decision to switch to a four-day week should be "based on clearly defined purposes and a recognition of both costs and benefits" (Richberg & Sjorgren, 1983).
What Are The Benefits of a Four-Day Week?
Though financially motivated, most schools that adopt a four-day week have serendipitously discovered numerous benefits they didn't quite expect. Following is a list of the advantages of the four-day week that many schools have encountered for students, teachers, and the school in general.
Students and Teachers:
Student drop-out rates decline (Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
Student disciplinary referrals decrease (Koki, 1992).
Student achievement is generally not affected either positively or negatively (Nelson, 1983; Daly & Richburg, 1984).
Student and teacher attendance improves (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Students and teachers benefit from less interrupted class time as a result of longer class periods and fewer transitions at all grade levels. This increases the efficiency of instruction (Blankenship, 1984; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
Students and teachers share more positive attitudes about school. Consequently, there is a marked improvement in school morale (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987).
School faculty has more time for quality staff development (often the day off is used for this purpose) (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
There is more time for participation in extracurricular activities and for personal business, such as doctor appointments (Litke, 1994; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982).
The School in General:
Has significant savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses, and building wear and tear (Blankenship, 1984; Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Koki, 1992; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987; Culbertson, 1982; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
Can make up school days missed due to inclement weather on what would have been the fifth school day instead of at the end of the school year (Blankenship, 1984; Litke, 1994).
Experiences fewer distractions; learning is less broken up by athletic events or other school activities (Blankenship, 1984; Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Featherstone, 1991).
What Are the Concerns?
Weighing both the advantages and the possible disadvantages of any new scheduling format is critical to making an informed decision. Some of the concerns associated with the four-day week that are important to note include:
Child care issues: While some parents like the four-day week because they prefer having to find good child care one day a week, others dislike it for the very same reason and prefer to arrange for child care in smaller increments of time. Some schools have alleviated this concern by using high school students as baby-sitters for those in need (Blankenship, 1984).
Primary-aged students: There is often concern as to how young students will respond to such a long school day. As a result, many schools structure the day so the afternoon is composed of less academic work than the morning, thus allowing students to have some "down time" (Blankenship, 1984).
At-risk students: Some teachers feel that at-risk and special-needs students may have retention difficulties with an extra day off each week (Blankenship, 1984; Culbertson, 1982).
School reform movement: Some educators are concerned that the four-day week may appear to be inconsistent with the new emphasis for more time in school (Blankenship, 1984).
The four-day week will take more of a local community commitment than other schedule options as it can affect daily community routines as well as the childrens'.
Implementation Ideas
When contemplating the decision to move to a four-day week, keep in mind that it is a multistep process. Some suggested steps for implementation are:
Become as familiar with the concepts and implications of a four-day week as possible. Read research and case studies. Talk to other administrators and teachers using this schedule.
Survey the staff; they must be involved in the decision making process. If they aren't in favor of a four-day schedule, it will be difficult to proceed (Litke, 1994).
Get the endorsement of the students, parents, and community in addition to approval from teachers and administration, since this change will affect all of them as well (Litke, 1994).
Design the schedule to accommodate the needs of teachers and students. Make sure all changes stay within accreditation guidelines and teachers' contract requirements.
Some restructuring and repacing of the curriculum will be necessary. Involve school staff; this will give them ownership of the process and also help them to feel more ready for the change. Provide ample time for staff development (Richberg & Sjogren, 1983; Featherstone, 1991).
Once the schedule is in place, monitor its effects frequently. Keep communication open between administrators, teachers, students, and parents.
Allow a sufficient trial period before making any final recommendations on the schedule (Blankenship, 1984).
If possible, use the day off as an opportunity to provide students in need with enrichment activities or additional instruction (Koki, 1992).
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Year-Round Education
What's It All About?
Communities are often motivated to select year-round calendars due to booming student enrollment and a lack of funding to construct new school buildings. Even though year-round education may seem like an educational innovation, it has actually been around for quite some time. At the beginning of this century, population centers such as New York and Baltimore were sites of year-round education programs. A shift in societal needs, coupled with a largely agrarian society, altered the school calendar and made it what it is today (White, 1995; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993). Because we are no longer bound to agrarian calendars, many educators now feel that rearranging or even extending the school year can increase opportunities and better achievement for all students (White, 1995). There are about a dozen districts divided among the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that have at least one school currently using a year-round/modified calendar, but it is not a widespread trend at this time.
To fully appreciate year-round education, it helps to understand some of the different formats it can accommodate. Generally, on a year-round calendar, students attend school for a prescribed length of time (this can be 45, 60, or 90 days), and then have a vacation, often referred to as an intercession. This break commonly lasts 15 days, but can be as long as 20, 30, or even 40 days. Some of the more common configurations are: 45 days on—15 days off, 60-15 (with most of July off), 60-20, and 90-30 (Serifs, 1990). Student tracks are another important aspect of year-round systems. Tracks are the groups students are divided into which share the same schedule rotation. A school can have up to four or possibly even more tracks, and as few as one, though it is the staggered rotation of multiple tracks that enable schools to combat overcrowding.
What are the Benefits of Year-Round Education?
Today, year-round scheduling is used largely to combat severe overcrowding as an alternative to expensive building plans that can cost taxpayers millions of dollars, though this is not always the case (Schnieder & Townley, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993). Some districts choose year-round calendars because of the benefits it has for students. As with other schedule changes, educators have found that there are numerous advantages associated with year-round calendars. The following list details the common benefits of year-round programs to students, teachers, and the community.
Students:
Benefit from a more continuous learning pattern, and a reduced need for review (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993; Morse, 1992; Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Can benefit from optional remediation programs offered during intercessions as opposed to lengthy repetition during regular session that might put them behind other students. Intercessions can also provide a means for enrichment activities for all students (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; Bradford, 1993).
May have a marked improvement in their overall school performance, especially if they come from a home environ ment that does not reinforce school learning (Morse, 1992).
Often feel more enthusiastic and motivated about school (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Teachers:
Experience less burnout and fatigue, just as students do, as a result of the shorter instructional cycles (Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
Are absent from school less (Serifs, 1990; Goldman, 1990).
Spend less time reviewing material they have already taught.
Can earn extra income by teaching during the intercessions (Serifs, 1990; Levine & Ornstein, 1993).
The School and Community:
Save money by choosing the year-round model over new construction, and can increase the school capacity by 25 percent (Serifs, 1990; Dlugosh, 1994; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Experience less vandalism that can occur during long summer breaks (Serifs, 1990).
See less incidence of juvenile delinquency (Serifs, 1990).
What Are the Concerns?
Of the three scheduling alternatives discussed in this booklet, year-round schedules are probably the most challenging to implement. Saving money by maximizing school building utilization should not be the sole motivation behind adopting a year-round schedule (Glines, 1987). Implementing a year-round calendar is a complicated process that requires the commitment not only from school staff and students, but from parents and the community as well. The whole community surrounding a year-round school or district will be affected. In order for educators to convince parents and the community that a year-round model should be implemented, they will need to counter many old arguments about time in school and present logical, compelling reasons about the benefits of modifying the traditional school calendar (Dlugosh, 1994). Just as important as knowing the benefits, however, is knowing about possible difficulties. Educators must be fully aware of the complications often associated with year-round scheduling in order to communicate effectively with the community and to create a successful program. Some of these are outlined in the following list:
The initial cost of setting up a year-round program may be high. Renovations, such as extra storage and air conditioning, are a must in order for the program to run smoothly (Serifs, 1990).
Some of the savings resulting from year-round programs will be offset by increased district costs, such as more school office staff or additional teaching staff (Serifs, 1990).
There will be less time for large-scale cleaning and maintenance (Serifs, 1990).
There will be more wear and tear on the building (Serifs, 1990).
The scheduling process itself is quite complex and will need careful management (Goldman, 1990).
Unless the school is using a single track plan, every school function that occurs, including parent conferences, faculty meetings, and open houses, will have to be done more than once because one segment of the school population will always be gone (Goldman, 1990; Moore, 1992).
Careful coordination with district specialist services (i.e., speech therapists, occupational therapists, or other consultants) will be necessary, as most of them do not normally work with students over the summer (Moore, 1992).
Parents may become frustrated if their children do not have common vacation times (Levine & Ornstein, 1993; O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Multiple-track systems require extensive packing between sessions as classrooms are often shared (O'Neil & Adamson, 1993).
Continuing education coursework may be difficult for teachers to pursue.
Implementation Ideas
Because of the complexity of implementing a year-round schedule, it is important to be aware of several suggested steps. They are as follows:
Become familiar with research and information on year-round calendars. Visit other year-round schools. Find out as much as possible about the pros and cons, and how these relate to current district needs.
Involve all local education stakeholders in the decision making process. This should include teachers, students, parents, classified staff, and the community. Keeping them informed throughout the process will minimize conflict (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993; Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
Remember that it is most critical to have the support of teachers; if they are not in favor of the decision, there is little probability that it will be successful (Schnieder & Townley, 1992).
When designing the actual schedule, consider the following (White, 1995):
The configuration of the calendar; will it be 45-15, 60-15, or something else?
The number of student tracks that will work best with the chosen configuration
The number of holidays during the year
The unique needs of the school and community; build a schedule that best suits them
Provide ample time for staff development. The year-round schedule will require extensive changes in everything from facilities logistics to the pacing of classes (Serifs, 1990).
Be prepared to deal with curricula concerns such as course sequencing and continuity, and student remediation and enrichment (Serifs, 1990).
If possible, make the program voluntary during its initial stages. Also, let parents have a say in what track their children will be in; give them as many choices as possible (Serifs, 1990; Bradford, 1993).
Assure that the new schedule is in line with accreditation and teacher contract requirements.
Monitor the program continuously; be flexible and attentive to the needs of all involved.
Do not rush implementation and do not make any hasty evaluations. Accurate assessment of the program will take time (Serifs, 1990).
This document's URL is: http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article5.html
© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001 Email WebmasterTel. 503.275.9500
This document's URL is: http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article4.html
© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001 Email WebmasterTel. 503.275.9500
Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
The Northwest Sampler
Several schools' alternative methods of scheduling are described on the following pages. They are located in the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. These programs are just a few of the many excellent ones found in the region and throughout the country. The programs vary widely in scope. Some have been in existence for several years, while others are fledgling efforts. Included for each site is location and contact information, observed outcomes as a result of the scheduling, a description of the program, and tips directly from these educators for others looking to implement similar changes in their schools.
Posted by: Alli Long
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
