It’s no secret that shifting to a four-day school week has become a national trend. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 states have at least one district with a four-day schedule.
Four-day weeks save districts 0.4%-2.5% in costs on average, which makes the schedule more appealing to rural areas where there is less funding.
With all this in mind, how do the students and staff of Galt High view the four-day school week? Students see both pros and cons.
“I think it’s bad and good,” said GHS senior Charlie Thao. “Because right now we have 8:30 (start time), for a four day school week we should probably just change it back to 8:00… I think that’s completely fine.”
Others, like senior William Sabo, would rather make smaller changes to the current schedule than adopt a drastically new one.
“I’m not against it, but I’d rather have 1:00 (dismissal) days every day for 5 days a week,” said Sabo. “However, if it was between what we have now and 4 day school weeks, I’d rather have four-day school weeks.”
The thought of a three-day weekend every week is the most enticing prospect, said Thao.
“Even with the extra hours (every day),” Thao said, “You have four school days and three weekend days … That’s epic.”
However, teachers are not as thrilled by the idea, arguing school is more than just instructional hours, said GHS math teacher Zachary Peck.
“During a four-day week people talk about the instructional hours, sometimes I think that’s the least important thing,” said Peck. “When you think about what else school is for, it’s for socialization, teaching you to stand up for friends, preparing you for your career, and things like that.”
A four-day week would leave students less prepared for the real world, said Peck.
“For most people, you work for a whole week, starting in the morning and getting off in the afternoon,” said Peck. “So that’s why school is set up that way. A lot of people question the wisdom of that and the motives of that, but that’s why it is the way it is.”
Peck offered another argument against a four-day school week, saying it signifies a continual lowering of standards for education.
“We keep lowering the bar and still wonder why so many students fail in college,” said Peck. “I mean we offer retakes on everything and then you have professors that say your entire grade is based on these two tests. Then the student asks if they can retake it and the professor says no. We give them (students) all this scaffolding and support and act like it’s going to prepare them. It’s like we’ve put the bar on the floor and are trying to dig down under it.”
